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Champlain Bounty: Trout, Bass, and Salmon Abound on Lake Champlain
Artificial Lure's Lake Champlain Fishing Report
May 14, 2025
Good morning, fellow anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for this beautiful Wednesday morning. The sun rose at 5:32 AM and won't set until 8:14 PM, giving us plenty of daylight to work those lines today.
Weather's looking decent with temps in the low 60s and light winds from the northwest at 5-10 mph. No significant precipitation expected, so we should have stable conditions throughout the day. Lake Champlain doesn't have traditional tides like coastal waters, but water levels are running slightly above average for mid-May.
The big news around the lake is the continued success of the lake trout fishery. After that 50-year restoration effort finally paid off last month, we're seeing wild lake trout thriving without hatchery support for the first time in decades! The sea lamprey control program deserves a big shoutout for making this possible. Those lakers are hitting well in 50-75 foot depths, particularly near structure.
Bass fishing remains outstanding, with Champlain consistently ranked among Bassmaster's top fisheries nationwide. Several locals have reported excellent smallmouth action along rocky points using drop shot rigs with 3-inch minnow baits. For largemouth, try working weedlines with spinnerbaits or soft plastics.
Brown trout quotas have been consistently met by anglers working shallow waters (3-12 feet) using planer boards. Based on reports from last month, this pattern should hold through mid-May. A few chinooks are also being caught in deeper water, typically 50+ feet.
For landlocked salmon, which are running strong right now, focus on the waters below Willsboro. These Ice Age relics have been particularly active at dawn and dusk. Trolling with spoons or stickbaits at varying depths has been most productive.
Bait-wise, live minnows and nightcrawlers are always reliable for multiple species. For artificial presentations, silver and blue spoons have been hot for salmon, while tube jigs in green pumpkin or smoke colors are working well for bass.
Hot spots this week include the Inland Sea for a mixed bag of species (some great afternoon reports coming in from there), the deeper waters off Valcour Island for lake trout, and the Willsboro area for those salmon runs. The waters around Burlington have also been productive for bass anglers.
Don't forget that with 500 miles of shoreline and 70 islands to explore, there's always a new honey hole waiting to be discovered on Champlain!
That's all for today, folks. Remember, a bad day fishing still beats a good day working. This is Artificial Lure signing off until next time!
May 14, 2025
Good morning, fellow anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for this beautiful Wednesday morning. The sun rose at 5:32 AM and won't set until 8:14 PM, giving us plenty of daylight to work those lines today.
Weather's looking decent with temps in the low 60s and light winds from the northwest at 5-10 mph. No significant precipitation expected, so we should have stable conditions throughout the day. Lake Champlain doesn't have traditional tides like coastal waters, but water levels are running slightly above average for mid-May.
The big news around the lake is the continued success of the lake trout fishery. After that 50-year restoration effort finally paid off last month, we're seeing wild lake trout thriving without hatchery support for the first time in decades! The sea lamprey control program deserves a big shoutout for making this possible. Those lakers are hitting well in 50-75 foot depths, particularly near structure.
Bass fishing remains outstanding, with Champlain consistently ranked among Bassmaster's top fisheries nationwide. Several locals have reported excellent smallmouth action along rocky points using drop shot rigs with 3-inch minnow baits. For largemouth, try working weedlines with spinnerbaits or soft plastics.
Brown trout quotas have been consistently met by anglers working shallow waters (3-12 feet) using planer boards. Based on reports from last month, this pattern should hold through mid-May. A few chinooks are also being caught in deeper water, typically 50+ feet.
For landlocked salmon, which are running strong right now, focus on the waters below Willsboro. These Ice Age relics have been particularly active at dawn and dusk. Trolling with spoons or stickbaits at varying depths has been most productive.
Bait-wise, live minnows and nightcrawlers are always reliable for multiple species. For artificial presentations, silver and blue spoons have been hot for salmon, while tube jigs in green pumpkin or smoke colors are working well for bass.
Hot spots this week include the Inland Sea for a mixed bag of species (some great afternoon reports coming in from there), the deeper waters off Valcour Island for lake trout, and the Willsboro area for those salmon runs. The waters around Burlington have also been productive for bass anglers.
Don't forget that with 500 miles of shoreline and 70 islands to explore, there's always a new honey hole waiting to be discovered on Champlain!
That's all for today, folks. Remember, a bad day fishing still beats a good day working. This is Artificial Lure signing off until next time!
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By Quiet. PleaseArtificial Lure's Lake Champlain Fishing Report
May 14, 2025
Good morning, fellow anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for this beautiful Wednesday morning. The sun rose at 5:32 AM and won't set until 8:14 PM, giving us plenty of daylight to work those lines today.
Weather's looking decent with temps in the low 60s and light winds from the northwest at 5-10 mph. No significant precipitation expected, so we should have stable conditions throughout the day. Lake Champlain doesn't have traditional tides like coastal waters, but water levels are running slightly above average for mid-May.
The big news around the lake is the continued success of the lake trout fishery. After that 50-year restoration effort finally paid off last month, we're seeing wild lake trout thriving without hatchery support for the first time in decades! The sea lamprey control program deserves a big shoutout for making this possible. Those lakers are hitting well in 50-75 foot depths, particularly near structure.
Bass fishing remains outstanding, with Champlain consistently ranked among Bassmaster's top fisheries nationwide. Several locals have reported excellent smallmouth action along rocky points using drop shot rigs with 3-inch minnow baits. For largemouth, try working weedlines with spinnerbaits or soft plastics.
Brown trout quotas have been consistently met by anglers working shallow waters (3-12 feet) using planer boards. Based on reports from last month, this pattern should hold through mid-May. A few chinooks are also being caught in deeper water, typically 50+ feet.
For landlocked salmon, which are running strong right now, focus on the waters below Willsboro. These Ice Age relics have been particularly active at dawn and dusk. Trolling with spoons or stickbaits at varying depths has been most productive.
Bait-wise, live minnows and nightcrawlers are always reliable for multiple species. For artificial presentations, silver and blue spoons have been hot for salmon, while tube jigs in green pumpkin or smoke colors are working well for bass.
Hot spots this week include the Inland Sea for a mixed bag of species (some great afternoon reports coming in from there), the deeper waters off Valcour Island for lake trout, and the Willsboro area for those salmon runs. The waters around Burlington have also been productive for bass anglers.
Don't forget that with 500 miles of shoreline and 70 islands to explore, there's always a new honey hole waiting to be discovered on Champlain!
That's all for today, folks. Remember, a bad day fishing still beats a good day working. This is Artificial Lure signing off until next time!
May 14, 2025
Good morning, fellow anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for this beautiful Wednesday morning. The sun rose at 5:32 AM and won't set until 8:14 PM, giving us plenty of daylight to work those lines today.
Weather's looking decent with temps in the low 60s and light winds from the northwest at 5-10 mph. No significant precipitation expected, so we should have stable conditions throughout the day. Lake Champlain doesn't have traditional tides like coastal waters, but water levels are running slightly above average for mid-May.
The big news around the lake is the continued success of the lake trout fishery. After that 50-year restoration effort finally paid off last month, we're seeing wild lake trout thriving without hatchery support for the first time in decades! The sea lamprey control program deserves a big shoutout for making this possible. Those lakers are hitting well in 50-75 foot depths, particularly near structure.
Bass fishing remains outstanding, with Champlain consistently ranked among Bassmaster's top fisheries nationwide. Several locals have reported excellent smallmouth action along rocky points using drop shot rigs with 3-inch minnow baits. For largemouth, try working weedlines with spinnerbaits or soft plastics.
Brown trout quotas have been consistently met by anglers working shallow waters (3-12 feet) using planer boards. Based on reports from last month, this pattern should hold through mid-May. A few chinooks are also being caught in deeper water, typically 50+ feet.
For landlocked salmon, which are running strong right now, focus on the waters below Willsboro. These Ice Age relics have been particularly active at dawn and dusk. Trolling with spoons or stickbaits at varying depths has been most productive.
Bait-wise, live minnows and nightcrawlers are always reliable for multiple species. For artificial presentations, silver and blue spoons have been hot for salmon, while tube jigs in green pumpkin or smoke colors are working well for bass.
Hot spots this week include the Inland Sea for a mixed bag of species (some great afternoon reports coming in from there), the deeper waters off Valcour Island for lake trout, and the Willsboro area for those salmon runs. The waters around Burlington have also been productive for bass anglers.
Don't forget that with 500 miles of shoreline and 70 islands to explore, there's always a new honey hole waiting to be discovered on Champlain!
That's all for today, folks. Remember, a bad day fishing still beats a good day working. This is Artificial Lure signing off until next time!