Lake Champlain Fishing Report: Chilly Temps, Bountiful Bass, and Seasonal Tactics

Artificial Lure here, bringing you today’s fishing report for Wednesday, November 5th, out on Lake Champlain and its surrounding waters. Chilly air set in overnight, and anglers launching before sunrise hit that sharp November frost—classic for this time of year north of the Adirondacks. Conditions at dawn were crisp, with air temps hovering near 35°F and a light northwest breeze at 8 to 10 mph making it feel colder on the main lake. The water’s cooling down, too, dropping into the high 40s in most shallows and hovering at around 50°F out deeper. According to NOAA, today’s sunrise came at 6:32 AM and we’ll see sunset wrap up right around 4:39 PM, giving you about ten solid daylight hours to get after ‘em. Now, while Lake Champlain doesn’t have ocean tides, we do get those wind-driven "seiches"—water rises and falls when the wind shifts hard and stacks water up in the bays. Today’s northwest wind will push some water down to the south end, so don’t be surprised if King’s Bay or the lower Champlain Bridge area looks a little higher in the late afternoon. Fish activity’s stayed strong into November, especially for *smallmouth* and *largemouth bass*. Major League Fishing’s recent Toyota Series on Champlain saw solid bags—plenty of five-fish limits in the 18 to 20 pound range, driven mostly by chunky smallmouth pulled up shallow on windy points and deep breaks. Several of the pros reported catching 30 or more bass in a single outing, with a few 4–5 pounders mixed in. According to Bassmaster, fall’s transition has most smallies still chewing, especially during sunny patches late morning into early afternoon. Best lures lately have been reaction baits. The top winning setups out here right now are: - **1/2-ounce ChatterBait JackHammer** in black and blue with a Ghost Shad trailer for covering water, especially where bait is stacked on the flats. - **Dropshot rigs** loaded with finesse worms, deadly for smallies that have slid deeper off the points around Split Rock and the Inland Sea. - **Steelshad blade baits**, as Outdoor News notes, are dynamite for vertical jigging in 20–30 feet when bass key on dying shad or smelt. - If the wind’s up, don’t hesitate to throw a suspending jerkbait, like a Megabass Vision 110 or a soft plastic swimbait in baitfish colors. Live baitwise, you can’t beat a big fat shiner or a lively crayfish right now, especially off the old rock piles and marina walls—great for both bass and those bonus northern pike. In terms of hot spots, locals are hitting: - **Missisquoi Bay** for late-season largemouth, working slow jigs and chatterbaits along weededges and docks. - **The Inland Sea around Savage Island and Keeler Bay**—hot ticket for smallmouth piling up on ledges as they stage deeper for winter. For multispecies, a few walleye are being picked up in the low-light hours near the mouth of Otter Creek with jigging raps tipped with minnows. Remember, water temps are dropping fast, so wear a life vest, watch for fog banks e This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.