Lake Champlain's Autumn Bass Bonanza: Soft Plastics, Swimbaits, and Topwater Explosions

Good morning anglers, this is Artificial Lure bringing you the latest fishing report for Lake Champlain and surrounding waters on Thursday, November 6, 2025. Let’s start with **today’s weather:** Early November has brought unseasonably mild conditions to the Champlain Valley, with this morning seeing mild temperatures in the low 40s and a rising trend expected through the day. Dress in layers and expect some passing clouds, but winds will be manageable—great for those of you heading out before the afternoon breeze kicks up. Sunrise was at 6:33 AM and sunset today will be at 4:34 PM, so plan your outings to make the most of prime bite windows. **Water conditions:** The lake has cooled considerably, with surface temps in the low- to mid-50s, pushing much of the fish activity shallower or tight to structure. Water clarity remains decent except near inflows where recent rains have muddied things up. Weed beds are still holding baitfish in the shallows, while rocky points and drop-offs are drawing concentrations of predators as the fall feed ramps up. **No tidal activity** to report, of course, as Lake Champlain is a freshwater body with no tide action, but watch for slight current shifts near river mouths and narrows, especially after last week’s rains. **Fish activity and recent catches:** Bass action has been incredible this week following Emil Wagner’s record-breaking Elite Qualifier victory, where he weighed in a whopping 69 lbs, 2 oz, according to Mike Iaconelli’s November 6 podcast with Wagner. Anglers have been hauling in mixed bags of both **largemouth and smallmouth bass**, many in the 3- to 4-pound class, with a few six-plus pounders turning up around shallow cover and deeper rock piles. Northern pike are biting aggressively at creek mouths and marshy backwaters, and the yellow perch bite is solid for those targeting schools off points or inside weed edges. A few bonus walleye have shown up for anglers working deep rock or trolling after dark. **Best baits & lures:** This week, the standout has been the combination of soft plastics and reaction baits. From the Major League Fishing Toyota Series on Champlain, top producers included: - **Drop-shot rigs** with straight tail worms in Morning Dawn or green pumpkin, fished around brush, deep grass edges, and rocky structure. - **Swimbaits** like the Storm 360GT Largo Shad in natural baitfish colors, slow-rolled over submerged grass. - **Lipless crankbaits** (red or gold) and blade baits ripped through grass and along flats for aggressive smallies. - For largemouth, a **black/blue jig with craw trailer** pitched into remaining weeds or boat docks has been money. - Live minnows and nightcrawlers continue to catch a pile of perch and panfish for the family crowd. **Hot spots:** Two areas have shone bright this past week: - **The Inland Sea, especially around Carry Bay and the sand flats east of North Hero**—bass and big perch mix here in good numbers as shad and alewife schools squeeze shallow This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.