Fishing Report: Cooler Temps, Promising Catches on Lake Champlain

As of September 28, 2024, the fishing scene on Lake Champlain is looking promising, especially with the changing weather conditions. ### Weather and Water Conditions The water level at Lake Champlain is currently at 94.74 feet, with a temperature of 65 degrees, according to the USGS gage at Burlington. The weather forecast indicates a mild day with temperatures ranging from the mid-60s to the mid-70s, which is ideal for fishing. ### Sunrise and Sunset Sunrise today is at around 6:45 AM, and sunset will be at approximately 6:30 PM, providing a full day for anglers to take advantage of the prime fishing times. ### Fish Activity Fish activity has been steady, particularly for those targeting bass and trout. The cooler temperatures are starting to activate the fish, making them more aggressive. Bass anglers have reported success using jigs, crankbaits, and spinner baits, especially around main lake points and small cuts. ### Types and Amounts of Fish Caught Yesterday, anglers reported catching a variety of fish. Bass fishing has been fair, with decent numbers of sublegal fish being caught. Some larger bass are out chasing shad, making them harder to locate but rewarding to catch. Trout fishing is also active, with good numbers of rainbow trout in the tail waters, where spinner baits, spoons, and power bait have been effective. ### Best Lures and Bait For bass, using shad-imitating baits, medium-running crankbaits, and soft plastics along the bank and outside channel bins has been successful. For trout, spinner baits, spoons, and power bait are recommended. Crappie fishing is fair to good, with minnows over brush in depths of 8 to 20 feet being the best approach. ### Hot Spots One of the hot spots is around the main lake points and small cuts, where bass are actively chasing shad. Another good area is the tail waters, particularly where the core of engineers is operating the sluice gates to improve water quality, attracting a lot of stock-sized rainbow trout. Overall, with the cooler weather setting in and the fish becoming more active, today should be a great day to get out on Lake Champlain and reel in some impressive catches. This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.