Lake Champlain is putting on her classic October show—crisp air, low water, and the leaves just about at their fiery peak along the Vermont and New York shoreline. Today, October 10th, sunrise hit at 6:57 AM, with sunset on tap for 6:13 PM. Winds this morning are light out of the north-northeast around 5 to 7 knots, but should swing more northwest by midday, keeping wave heights down to a gentle 1 to 2 feet—prime conditions for boaters hugging the shoreline or prowling the bays. The National Weather Service is calling for mostly sunny skies and highs rising to the mid-60s by afternoon.
We’re still deep in drought territory—Lake Champlain’s water levels remain at historic lows, which has meant anglers have to adjust: rocky points are more exposed, weed edges are tighter to deeper water, and shallow flats that typically hold late-season largemouth are much thinner than usual, so think deeper than you might expect for this time of year. Locals are reporting solid clarity despite the drought, and water temps are hovering in the upper 50s to low 60s depending on what bay you’re probing.
Bass fishing is what Champlain’s known for, and this week’s been textbook fall: smallmouth are stacking up on deep rock piles from Split Rock south to the Four Brothers, with tube jigs and drop-shot rigs doing damage—especially in green pumpkin, smoke, or goby patterns. Folks working swimbaits and blade baits along the channel edges have been connecting with fish up to 4 pounds, and there’s a rumor of a 5-plus landed near Juniper Island just yesterday.
Largemouth catches have slowed compared to September, but don’t rule them out—main lake bays like Missisquoi and South Bay are still producing on jigs tipped with craws, and frogs pitched to the remaining lilies at first light. The bite’s been best on slow, natural presentations. Champlain’s classic black and blue skirted jig is hard to beat this week, and chatterbaits in white are fooling both green and bronze backs when the chop picks up later in the day.
For multispecies folks, walleye have started feeding more reliably at dusk, especially around the mouth of the Winooski and Otter Creek. Jigging with chartreuse or fire tiger paddletails right at twilight seems to produce best as these fish push shallower for prey. Northerns are lurking in deeper cabbage, and a well-chucked jerkbait will get you bit—don’t be shy to go big.
There’s word from locals fishing the Vermont side that perch schools are thick near the ferry landings, and they’re responding to small spoons and fathead minnows under slip bobbers. Trout activity is limited now as the water cools, but an occasional steelhead shows at the mouths of tributaries—if we get rain soon, expect this to improve.
Hot spots this week? The Inland Sea east of Savage Island is holding big smallmouth, and the area just outside Converse Bay is a classic October staging point where you can catch both species in the same drift. If you’re chasing walleye, give the weed edge drop-offs near Crown Point a pass just after sunset.
Bait shops across the region are moving plenty of shiners and nightcrawlers, but the savvy stick to artificials now—hard plastics in shad or perch color, tubes, and Ned rigs have all been top sellers. The bluebird conditions and angler pressure mean a subtle approach pays off this week.
That’s your Lake Champlain fishing update for October 10th, 2025. Grab that extra hoodie for the morning, keep an eye on the steady winds, and enjoy the lights show from both the fish and the foliage. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe for your regular dose of local fishing intelligence.
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