Late October Champlain Champs: Smallies, Gators, Walleye, and more on Lake Champlain's Exposed Flats

Artificial Lure here with your boots-on-the-ground fishing report from Lake Champlain, straddling Vermont and New York, Friday October 24, 2025, at 7:45 a.m. We woke to classic late October chill—temps hovering in the upper 30s at sunrise, with a brisk north-northwest breeze about 10 to 15 mph and partly cloudy skies. Look for highs to bump into the upper 40s by mid-day. Sunrise was at 7:18 a.m. and sunset tonight is 5:55 p.m. No tidal action, because Champlain isn’t tidal, but drought’s dropped lake levels to historic lows, revealing rocky flats and shorelines rarely seen outside of kayak season. This exposed structure has the fish bunched up tight. Local podcasts like “Lake Champlain Vermont/New York Fishing Report Daily” say it’s prime time for smallmouth—they’re schooling on rocky points, proving why Champlain’s a Northeast destination. Anglers are reporting 20-30 smallmouth in a session, most 2-3 pounds with some channeling football shapes up to 4 and even 5 pounds. Northern pike are cruising shallow bays and weed beds, while walleye are snapping at first and last light, especially near river mouths. Jumbo perch are stuffing themselves in the Inland Sea and Missisquoi Bay. There’s bluegill and crappie action where the weeds hang on, plus a few lake-run salmon and trout in the cold outflows for those patient enough to toss spoons on cloudy afternoons. Best lures today? For smallmouth, slow is the show: Ned rigs and tube jigs in green pumpkin or brown, and suspending jerkbaits along ledges early. Pike are blasting big white spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and that tried-and-true red and white spoon. Walleye, hit sunset and dark with 3-4 inch soft plastics on a jighead, or blade baits slooowly bumped bottom. For perch, nothing beats live fathead minnows or small perch-pattern jigs under a slip bobber. Reports from the “Late October Chasers” episode confirm most fish are coming from just-offshore rocky points and weedlines left in the low water. Fly anglers should be rigging small crayfish and minnow patterns—strip slow along rocks for bonus bass and trout. Hot spots today: - Point Au Roche State Park in New York—rocky points and weedbeds, stacked with smallmouth and pike. - North shore of the Inland Sea near North Hero—aggressive perch and pike right in the last green weeds. - Mouth of the Lamoille River in Malletts Bay—good after sunset for walleye and solid midday smallmouth. Throughout, stealth and light line are the meal tickets—pressure and low water mean those fish are wary. Slow, methodical presentations, especially around visible structure, will outfish the crowd. That’s the October 24th Champlain round-up from Artificial Lure—a wild northeast autumn, where every cast could stick a tank smallie or a toothy northern. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe for tomorrow’s report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.