Fishing Season: Lake Champlain is open to fishing year round

Lake Champlain - VT

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Water Temp:

72

Master Class Angling's Tip of the Week

Carp and drum!!! Both of these fish are hot right now. The carp have their noses down and are feeding hard. The drum are doing the same but also are playing midwater. 7 or 8 wt rods with floating lines will get the job done. A tapered leader with 10 lb fluoro is your best bet. As far as flies- it depends where they are feeding. You can't go wrong with Clousers for drum and pretty much any fly on the bottom can get a carp. Hybrids are a great choice!

Directions open in app

Map of Lake Champlain

Water Flow Data

Tidal Conditions

5-Day Outlook as of 8/27/25

USE CAUTION! The lake is very low and while it is fishing well there are navigation hazards that are not usually in the mix. Pay attention to your charts! Panfish are fantastic right now! A 1-4 weight in the boat leads to a lot of fun! Poppers, small nymphs and buggers gets it done easy

Techniques & Tips as of 8/27/25

Use an 8 or 9 weight with a floating line (SA Titan are magic!) and a fairly short leader of 6-7 foot 12-16 lb with wire and any of a number of pike patterns for a good time.

Local Species Available Lake Champlain is open to fishing year round

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    Carp

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    bass

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    northern pike

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    pickerel

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    panfish

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    perch

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    bowfin

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    freshwater drum

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    longnose gar

Master Class Angling's Recommended Fly Patterns

"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:

Name: Colors: Size(s):
Lefty's Deceiver white 2/0
Clouser Minnow white, chartreuse an 6-2/0s
Pike Bunny red/white, Chartreu 1/0-4/0
Bead Head Soft Hackle Hare's Ear Nymph N/A 2-10
Hex nymphs N/A 4-8
Hey Dries N/A 4-8

Lefty's Deceiver

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Item #0826

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Master Class Angling's Recommended Gear

Description: About Lake Champlain

The shallow waters of Lake Champlain and its lower tributaries hold a bounty of warm water fishes for the fly angler. Best accessed with a canoe, kayak or other watercraft this body of water is quite foreboding but when taken in smaller segments excellent fishing can be found. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Access points are an easy means to launch along the many bays, setbacks and rivers from Missisquoi Bay in the north, south to Whitehall. Weedy wetlands and bays are home familiar fly fishing targets such as largemouth bass, several panfish, perch, pickerel, carp, and northern pike. Bowfin and longnose gar are less familiar but also worthy adversaries on fly tackle. Streamers, topwater flies, and nymphs are all effective flies, dependent on species. Rocky shorelines hold smallmouth bass, carp, perch, the occasional walleye and freshwater drum. Streamers and crawfish flies will attract attention from these fishes. Anglers targeting the larger species will want 7 to 9 weight rods and 3 to 5 weight rods are excellent for the smaller. Flooded wetlands warm quickly to 50 degrees under spring sunlight and can start fishing well as early as April, but the season is best from late May through September. Some decent fishing can also be found as late as October. Lake Champlain can provide an excellent alternative for fly anglers during spells of hot weather; several species are well adapted to warm water. Water levels recede from spring to the fall so areas fished early in the season will likely be different in the summer. Weed growth can also dramatically change how an area fishes.

Nearest Airport:

Burlington International

Best Time to Fish:

All day!

Best Stretch:

There are simply too many to list in a lake 120 miles long.