Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Saturday, October 25th, 2025.
We’re rolling into the back end of October, and fall is showing its teeth. This morning sees a crisp chill in the air—temps started in the upper 30s, pushing towards a high near 50 by late afternoon. Winds will blow in from the north-northwest at 10–15 mph. Water levels are low—The Mountain Times reports Champlain is at historic lows—so watch your props around the shallows and structure.
Sunrise this morning hit at 7:20 AM, and sunset rolls in around 5:53 PM, so your best windows for action are the low light periods before nine and after four. Expect a glassy calm early, with a stiff wind picking up by mid-morning—prime time if you like wind-blown banks or targeting baitfish pushed tight to shore.
On the bite: According to the Lake Champlain Daily Fishing Report, smallmouth bass are absolutely chewing, especially across the exposed flats and rocky drops from the Sand Bar down to Chimney Point. Some real tank bronzebacks—multiple reports of smallies hitting that 4- to 5-pound class—have come in the last three days, with many saying numbers are strong all along the mid-lake region. Captain Ryan Latinville told On The Water just last week that six-pound smallmouth are not fantasy here this time of year, and the early cold snap’s only got them feeding harder.
Best rigs right now have been topwaters first thing—Whopper Ploppers and classic Zara Spooks—then transition to jerkbaits and swimbaits as the sun comes up. When the wind is up, it’s hard to beat a ½-ounce lipless crankbait in chrome or fire tiger, burned across wind-swept flats. Tube jigs and Ned rigs in green pumpkin or watermelon are still producing when things go quiet. For live bait, you can’t go wrong with a big, lively shiner, especially if you’re hunting for that one true trophy.
Largemouths are starting to concentrate in the last weedbeds. Punching a soft plastic creature or flipping a jig around anything green has been pulling fish, especially in the southern bays and sheltered pockets like Malletts Bay and South Hero’s islands. Pickerel and northern pike are an excellent side catch just off the channel edges—big spoons, spinnerbaits, or live bait rigs will get you plenty of action.
Walleye anglers are quietly filling coolers at night along the deeper creek mouths, particularly down near the causeway and the mouth of the Winooski. The classic setup: a Rapala Husky Jerk slow-trolled after dark, or a crawler harness drifted deep. Catch sizes have been solid: eaters in the 17–20-inch class, with the occasional 5–6 pound fish reported this week.
Crappie are schooling tighter with dropping temps. Look for them stacked on deep brushpiles or bridge pilings—small marabou jigs and minnows under a slip float are fooling slabs up to 13 inches.
The two hot spots this week have been the Sand Bar—especially near that rocky transition off the park—and the southern drop-offs near Chimney Point. Early risers also scored big on the east side near Button Bay, with schools of smallmouth busting bait in less than 10 feet of water.
A quick note on safety: With water levels as low as they are and a couple recent incidents—including a tragic canoe capsize near North Hero—you need to be extra cautious when running shallow backwaters or crossing wind-whipped open stretches.
That’s the bite on Champlain this Saturday. Thanks for tuning in to the report—be sure to subscribe for daily updates and year-round intel. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
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