Lake Champlain's Midsummer Fishing Bonanza: Smallies, Lakers, and More

Artificial Lure here with your up-to-the-minute Lake Champlain fishing report for June 11th, 2025. Sunrise was at 5:13 AM and we’ll see sunset at 8:31 PM, giving us a long stretch of daylight to chase those big ones. Weather’s looking classic for early summer: mid-60s to low 70s, partly cloudy, and a light northwest breeze—prime conditions for both comfort and fish activity.

Bass are still the star of the show. According to recent creel surveys and multiple local reports, smallmouth are the most targeted species right now, and for good reason. Anglers are consistently pulling 3- to 4-pound smallies, with the occasional trophy 5-pounder getting landed, especially around rocky points and drop-offs near Valcour Island and Willsboro Bay. Many of these fish are in post-spawn transitions, with a few still on beds in the coolest pockets. The best action is tight to shore or stretching out to six feet of water.

What’s working? The PXR Mavrik 110 Jerkbait in Metallic Yellow Perch and classic 5" Senko Worms in Green Pumpkin Black, Texas-rigged, are both hot. For numbers, try tube jigs in green pumpkin or a drop-shot rig with a 4" finesse worm. If you’re after largemouth, focus on the bays and weed beds of the Inland Sea and Shelburne Bay. Topwater frogs at first light and white spinnerbaits along emerging weeds are producing, especially near St. Albans Bay, where one local boated a 7.5-pounder yesterday.

Lake trout fans, now’s the time. The bite is on fire from Westport to Cumberland Head and off the Burlington Ledges. Lakers are holding deep—target 80 to 100 feet, just above bottom, with spoons trolled slow and steady. Electronics are key for marking those humps and finding pods of rainbow smelt. In just a four-hour morning run last week, some boats reported landing over 30 lake trout, with a mix of hatchery and wild fish—as noted by Irish Raider Outfitters’ recent reports.

If panfish are on your mind, crappies and bluegills are feeding heavily in the shallow, warm bays. Bulwagga Bay and Missisquoi Bay are giving up nice numbers on small jigs tipped with worm.

For a couple of hot spots, set your sights on the rocky flats around Valcour Island for smallmouth, the deep water off Burlington for lake trout, and the weed beds of the Inland Sea for largemouth. Don’t overlook the stretch from Split Rock to Shelburne Point if you want to run downriggers for salmon—green and silver flasher-fly combos and Michigan Stinger spoons are drawing strikes.

Whether you’re casting, trolling, or jigging, the bite is on and the lake’s alive. Thanks for tuning in! Don’t forget to subscribe for more local reports and tips. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.