October Madness on Lake Champlain - Killer Smallmouth, Trout, & Pike Action

Artificial Lure here, with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Sunday, October 5, 2025. Sunrise hit at 7:15 AM this morning, with sunset coming in at 4:14 PM, so you’ve got those classic cool October days with a little more night creeping in. Early morning and late afternoon are still prime bite windows, especially on a waxing crescent moon. The major bite times are tailing off around 10:15 AM and pick back up from 2:48 PM, so plan your casts for those windows. Weather-wise, we started out with crisp, clear skies—perfect for an autumn fish. The breeze out of the northwest has been steady but not overpowering, making for good drifting and troll passes. Water temps are cooling, putting bass and trout on the chew as they fatten up before the cold. Recent catches have been nothing short of phenomenal. Captain Scott Thurber’s Irish Raider Outfitters crew reported plenty of action on both bass and trout charters from Cumberland Head, NY. Folks have been limiting out on **lake trout**, with fish into the double-digit pound class hauled in by both seasoned anglers and first-timers. Smallmouth bass are absolutely on fire—most in the 2 to 4 pound range, and some slabs up to five landed near rocky drop-offs and points. Families and kids got in on the action today, with huge smiles (and some sore arms) all around. Yellow perch are still schooling up, most running between 1 and 2 pounds, and a few big northerns up to 34 pounds were reported from the bays and grassy shoreline areas. Recent trips have seen both quantity and quality with those “Kast King” and “Ugly Stik” rigs putting in work. Bassmaster just wrapped its Nitro Elite Qualifier here, and the winning bag was 65 lbs, 11 oz—mainly smallmouth bites. Laker Howell took the title on topwater—Livingston Walking Boss was shown right to camera—so don’t hesitate to sling a walking-style topwater in low light, especially over shallow gravel and boulders. Hot baits this week: - **Smallmouth Bass**: Ned rigs, jerkbaits, and tube jigs in green pumpkin or smoke silver flake. - **Lake Trout**: Heavy white paddletail plastics jigged on 1 oz heads, and Kodiak Custom spoons. - **Yellow Perch**: Small in-line spinners like Panther Martin or Rooster Tail, tipped with a minnow chunk. - **Northern Pike**: Spinnerbaits in chartreuse/white and large swimbaits. Daredevle spoons are also producing. Live bait fans are still getting bites on medium shiners for bass and pike, while sucker minnows and nightcrawlers drifted on bottom rigs hook lakers and perch in deeper holes. Top hot spots today: - **Cumberland Head**—locked and loaded with hard-fighting smallmouth, right off the point and along crashing rock ledges where boats and shore anglers both score. - **Catfish Bay**—especially at sunrise, where the weeds meet deeper drop-offs, big pike and perch are ambushing bait. - For a family-friendly outing, **Barcombs Marina** and adjacent docks are good for steady perch and smaller bass. Land-based anglers, don’t overl This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.