Lake Champlain Fishing Report: Smallmouth Slam, Walleye & Pike on the Bite, Panfish Hiding in Cover

Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Friday, November 14th, 2025. First off, today’s weather rolled out mostly calm and cool—typical November fare in the Champlain Valley. Expect a high in the upper 40s, barely touching 50, with a light southern breeze and clear skies into the afternoon. Sunrise hit at 6:47 AM, sunset’s coming at 4:29 PM, so your window is short—bundle up and get on the water early. Lake Champlain doesn’t get true ocean tides, but subtle wind-driven changes and fluctuations are happening. Recent supermoon activity from earlier November brought slightly above-average currents to the region, adding some movement in shallow bays, so keep that in mind when reading the water. According to NOAA, currents today should be relatively mild compared to last weekend. Now, the fishing. The Major League Fishing Phoenix Bass Fishing League wrapped up yesterday, and let me tell you, the smallmouth bite was firing. On Day 2, anglers scooped up quality smallmouths—many fish in the 3- to 4-pound class were weighed, and some big bags over 15 pounds were posted. This week saw Nicholas Veselka tally nearly 50 pounds to take top Strike King honors, and Cortiana stacked up more than 64 pounds of smallmouth over three days. So Champlain’s bronzebacks are still mighty active in these cooling temps and heading deeper as fall migrates toward winter. Best lures this week were heavy on baitfish imitations. Top producers included 6-inch Deps Sakamata Shad soft jerkbaits, the Rapala CrushCity Freeloader on a finesse swimbait head, and the 3/4-ounce Crock-O-Gator Football Jig with a NetBait Paca Chunk trailer. For finesse, the tried-and-true drop shot with a small shad-style soft plastic and tube baits worked their magic—especially over humps and rocky transitions near the channel edges. If you’re after largemouth, focus on dying weedlines in shallower back bays—creature baits, big spinnerbaits, and the A-Rig are prime picks. Walleye and northern pike are showing in the north end and Missisquoi Bay. Deep trolling with big stickbaits like a Reef Runner or classic silver-blue Rapala Husky Jerk has moved some good fish, especially at first and last light. Panfish and perch are holding tight to brush, docks, and pilings. Small jigs tipped with minnow or worm are a go-to—especially after sunrise as the water warms a hair. Pickerel are still in the mix too and chasing big spinners off points. Hot spots right now? The Inland Sea is giving up lots of solid smallmouth, as is the stretch from Carry Bay down to Knight Point State Park. For largemouth, Malletts Bay and Sand Bar are consistent—look for remaining green weed and any hard breaks. In Vermont waters, Lamoille River mouth and Colchester Reef are producing with the drop shot and swimbait pattern. My bait recommendation remains: **match the hatch**. If you see clouds of small shiners or perch fry, throw natural colors. For artificials, jerkbaits (white or chartreuse), tubes (gree This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.