Fall Feed Frenzy on Lake Champlain - Smallies Blitz, Big Winds, & Seasonal Bass Bite

Artificial Lure here with your September 13, 2025 Lake Champlain fishing report, and if you’re waking up early you’re feeling that brisk air—the kind that screams *fall feed is on*. Sunrise hit around 6:30 AM, sunset’s rolling in just past 7 PM, and we’re starting off with cool temps and gusty winds reaching 20 mph as the day scoots along. No tides here, but don’t let the flat water fool you—when those winds pick up, expect rowdy chop especially in the main basin. Fish activity is buzzing. Most of the action has been smallmouth-heavy offshore. The Toyota Series just wrapped up its second day with 20-pound bags dominating the leaderboard. If you’re gunning for numbers, smallies are stacking up in schools, averaging 2.5 to 4 pounds, with an occasional kicker tipping past five—a few largemouths over four pounds got netted, but truth be told, the fall feed belongs to the smallmouth blitz this week. Lake Champlain’s in a seasonal low for water (about 3 feet shy of average), making shallow largemouth spots trickier to find, but if you work harder, a few exist, especially around milfoil edges near Ticonderoga and Missisquoi Bay. Best lures to have tied up today: - **Drop shot rigs tipped with Great Lakes Finesse Drop Minnows**—big profile, easy casting, irresistible to smallmouth. - **Wacky worms and glide baits** for sluggish post-spawn largemouth lingering in protected pockets. - **Booyah, Yum, and Bandit crankbaits**—especially in shad and perch patterns for those active offshore feeders. - If conditions allow, *War Eagle or Smithwick jerkbaits* fished erratically along rocky points and shoals are producing steady bites. Natural baits aren’t as consistent right now due to cooler temps, but for die-hard live bait folks, *small shiners or nightcrawlers* around submerged structure can trigger a strike, especially later in the day. Recent catches include several boats netting five-fish limits over 18 pounds, with one angler just missing the top 10 in the Toyota event after two days with bags of 20 lbs 3 oz and 18 lbs 8 oz. Local tournaments are seeing that “three-pound smallie” trend—guys are stacking threes across the board, and the bigger brutes are right beneath bait balls on open water. Where to go if you want a real shot at hot fishing: - **The Inland Sea** (east of North Hero and down to the Sand Bar Bridge): classic autumn smallmouth haunt with tons of rocky shoals and bait stacks. - **The southern flats out of Ticonderoga**: if you want largemouth, punch mats or drop back to deeper clumps of milfoil. - **Missisquoi Bay’s west edge**: one of Champlain’s more protected areas, great pitching for bass if the winds cut loose mid-morning. Don’t forget—wind’s a factor, so pick your launch and plan for safe returns. Boaters, watch your mounts and electronics, plenty are taking a beating in these September gusts. And keep your tackle handy; get your baits at LureNet and use those promo codes if you want savings on Booyah, Yum, War Eagle, and the res This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.