Late Summer Madness on Lake Champlain: Bass, Bowfin, and Bluegill Bites Heat Up

Artificial Lure here—Lake Champlain’s wide waters are waking up to a beautiful late-summer Saturday, and the bite is on. We’ve just passed the peak of August’s Sturgeon Moon, named for those legendary lake giants that used to dominate our area; you might still catch its glow at night if you’re out chasing catfish or bowfin according to recent notes from NASA and the Old Farmer’s Almanac. That moon cycle can really charge up fish activity, and folks are saying the nights have been lively for big predator action.

Weather-wise, the National Weather Service in Burlington calls for a mild morning, light SW winds around 7 mph, and smooth water for much of today. Expect highs topping out near the mid-70s, humidity moderate, and no rain in the immediate forecast. Sunrise was at 6:09 AM and sunset will come at 7:45 PM, giving anglers a fine long window to hit their favorite spots.

Recent catches have been solid, despite a few days of wild chop earlier in the week—especially for bass chasers. Local Instagram reels and Bassmaster reports show smallmouth coming up from deeper water on finesse rigs and football jigs. Picasso Lures jigs have turned out some of the biggest bass of the summer for a couple of guides running out of Plattsburgh and Burlington. Offshore largemouth are in play too, with My Chaotic Fishing noting success on drop-offs and weedlines. Buzzbaits and frogs are producing on the surface in heavier vegetation—Wired2Fish recommends hitting the thick reed clumps and rice beds and switching presentations when you find dense mats.

Numbers wise, guides have been landing boat limits on mixed smallmouth and largemouth, with average weights between 2 and 4 pounds and the occasional kicker breaking the 5-pound mark. Pike and bowfin bite is picking up as well, especially after sunset and near tributary mouths. The panfish run is reliable if you’re hauling the kids—lots of bluegill and yellow perch coming off worms and small in-line spinners.

For bait, nothing’s beating a **football jig** (green pumpkin or brown) down deep for smallmouth, while a **white buzzbait** or **booyah pad crasher frog** is hot in the shallower, weedy bays. If you’re banking it, try a senko wacky rigged around docks for both species—Lake Champlain’s bass never seem to get tired of it. Live bait anglers are moving decent numbers of perch and sunfish using small shiners or nightcrawlers under slip bobbers.

Hot spots this week:
- **The Inland Sea** near North Hero saw exceptional smallmouth action over humps and boulder piles.
- **Missisquoi Bay** on the north end—weedline largemouth and some quality pike.
- **Juniper Island drop-offs**—marks on side imaging, fish stacked up from 18 to 32 feet.
- And don’t skip the **Shelburne Point** area at dawn; multiple boats put up big numbers tight to the rocky shore.

If you get the itch after all this, hit up the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes—Chris Sabick and his crew are always happy to talk local history.

That’s the Lake Champlain fishing report for August 23rd, 2025. Thanks for tuning in and don’t forget to subscribe for your weekly fix of hooks, local lore, and on-the-water updates.

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