Late Summer Smallies and Topwater Trout on Lake Champlain

Artificial Lure here with your August 16, 2025 Lake Champlain fishing report, coming to you crisp from the Vermont/New York border. Sunrise hit at 5:57 a.m., painting the mountains gold, and anglers are out before breakfast chasing that legendary Lake Champlain bite. Sunset tonight will be 8:02 p.m.—prime conditions for that evening topwater action you wait for all summer.

Weather’s cool and comfortable today: upper 50s early, climbing to the mid-70s by noon, with light west winds and clear skies, according to the National Weather Service in Burlington. Water clarity is good in most spots, with a touch of late-summer algae bloom in shallower coves. Wave action will be low except if the wind picks up later this afternoon; nothing that’ll keep the serious boats off the water.

No true tides here, but keep an eye on local wind forecasts and lake flow. With yesterday’s steady barometer and calm, warm nights, fish are in stable feeding patterns.

Now the news every angler wants—what’s biting and where. Recent reports from the Lake Champlain, Vermont/New York Daily Fishing Report podcast confirm the smallmouth are absolutely fired up, especially around rocky points and drop-offs near Thompson’s Point, Valcour Island, and the deeper edges of the Inland Sea. It’s that time: the Sturgeon Moon just passed, and plenty of keeper bass, some pushing over four pounds, have come to the boat this week. Don’t be surprised if you tangle with a football-shaped smallie or two—word is, BMP Fishing was just here and put up over 20 pounds in a tournament on drop shots and Ned rigs.

Largemouth are hanging tight to weed edges in Malletts Bay, Missisquoi Bay, and the southern shallows. Early morning and dusk, try pitching jigs or Texas-rigged Senkos along reed lines. Still, the topwater explosion is on: throw a Pop-R or a hollow frog across mats at daybreak.

Lake trout and Atlantic salmon action is steady for trollers running deep over 70-100 feet near Thompson’s Point and the Split Rock area. Downriggers and lead core with spoons in white, silver, or perch patterns are producing steady action. The lakers are hitting best between breakfast and lunchtime, then dropping deeper as the sun rises.

Panfish are hot, too—sunny days bring bluegills and pumpkinseeds into the shallows near the mouth of Otter Creek and around North Hero. Small worms or tiny jigs under a float will fill a bucket in no time.

As for hot baits and lures:
- For smallmouth, bring your drop shot rig with Berkley Flat Worms (MPOutdoors calls it “THE BEST” drop shot plastic for Champlain).
- Goby imitations (like the 3.3” Goliath Goby) are fooling pressured bass this week.
- Topwater walkers and poppers work best before 8 a.m. and after 7 p.m.
- For trout, flashers paired with white or green spoons trolled at 2 mph around 80 feet down will get hit.

Best two hot spots today? The rocky humps off Valcour Island for smallmouth and the weed edges out from Sandbar State Park for largemouth—both have produced numbers and size according to the latest angler feedback.

A quick heads-up: Watch your footing along the wild shoreline, especially in shallow rocky areas—this lake is home to a healthy population of northern water snakes and the occasional (rare, but real) timber rattlesnake as Vermont.com reminds us. They keep to themselves, but give any snake a wide berth.

That’s your August 16th Champlain check-in! Whether you’re casting from the Burlington Waterfront or drifting off Willsboro, get after them today—conditions are setting up for some of the best bites of late summer.

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