Lake Champlain Fishing Report: Salmon, Bass, and Perch Bonanza in the Borderlands

Artificial Lure here with your August 15, 2025, Lake Champlain fishing report, coming to you clear and local from the borderlands of Vermont and New York.

You couldn’t have picked a finer August morning—sunrise slid in at 5:55 AM with a promise of calm, dry air and just a touch of mist. Today will push up near 81°F under partly cloudy skies, with a gentle southwest breeze rippling the surface, making for ideal casting conditions. Expect sunset tonight at 8:03 PM. If you’re out early or late, you’ll avoid the midday lull and find the fish most active.

No tides to worry about here, but keep an eye on wind direction, especially if you’re drifting deep around the main channels.

Action’s been picking up, especially with the cooler nights giving fish a nudge from their summer sulk. Lake Champlain’s famous *Atlantic salmon* are making headlines—recent efforts to control invasive sea lamprey and bolster natural populations are paying off big time. According to the Vermont Public, last year saw record numbers of salmon lifted from the Salmon Hole on the Winooski, and this season is tracking just as strong. The New York DEC has just installed a new salmon monitoring weir on the Boquet River, so expect continued strong runs through the tributaries. Anglers along the mouth of the Boquet and Winooski are pulling in solid numbers, most salmon running 20–25 inches and showing healthy weights. The Boquet especially is seeing good movement, with both fry and smolt stockings contributing to the mix.

If you’re targeting salmon, your best bet right now is a silver flutter spoon or a blue-backed stickbait trolled 25–40 feet down, paired with a light fluorocarbon leader. Run them early or just before dusk for best results. Tie on a pink or natural-colored streamer fly if you’re working fast water up the tributaries.

Smallmouth and largemouth bass are still hot tickets on the lake. Local bassers are reporting topwater strikes at first light with hollow-bodied frogs and poppers in the shallows near Colchester Reef and the rocky points around Valcour Island. As the sun climbs, switch to green pumpkin tubes and Ned rigs along the drop-offs; bass are holding at 8–14 feet. If storms roll in, don’t be afraid to go big and flashy—chatterbaits in chartreuse or white draw strikes even in stained water.

White perch, always a local favorite, are schooling up in good numbers over the mid-lake humps and on the flats near Thompson’s Point. According to SI.com’s recent tips, try a 3-inch shad swimbait on a 3/16 oz jighead, or a small lipless crankbait in chrome for that aggressive school bite. Bring an extra cooler; fish up to 14 inches have been common and the action is fast when you find the schools. Most folks are jigging vertically under the boat, but a slow-rolled swimbait can turn the trick on scattered fish.

For those hunting panfish for the table, the weedlines at Keeler Bay are stacked with bluegill and crappie, hitting small live minnows or bright micro-jigs.

Got sturgeon on your mind? The Sturgeon Moon is shining bright, and legendary local tales say these lake monsters were once a common summertime catch. While sturgeon fishing is strictly regulated, it’s a reminder of the lake’s incredible native biodiversity.

Hot spots? Try the mouth of the Boquet River for salmon and the drop-offs near Valcour Island for bass. For a family setup with multispecies potential, hit the weedbeds at Keeler Bay or the edges off Thompson’s Point to chase perch and panfish.

Bring sunscreen, stay hydrated, and don’t forget to check current NY and VT regulations on harvest and slot limits—especially for salmon and sturgeon.

Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Lake Champlain report—don’t forget to subscribe for weekly updates and share your catch stories.

This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.