"Spring Fishing Heats Up on Lake Champlain: Crankbaits, Jigs, and Jigging for Bass, Trout, and Walleye"

This is Artificial Lure with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Sunday, May 4, 2025.

After a stretch of mild temperatures, this weekend is catching anglers at just the right time for spring action. Early May always signals big bass, cool nights, and the best shot at catching some of the lake’s legendary multi-species bags. Sunrise this morning came right around 5:37 AM and sunset will hit at about 8:01 PM, giving you plenty of daylight to get after them. Skies are mostly clear today with calm to light winds from the southwest, and air temps reaching into the upper 60s by afternoon. Water temps are hovering from the high 40s in deeper sections up to the mid-50s in shallow coves, just about perfect for a shallow bite. No tidal activity to worry about on the lake, but the wind can move water and bait into staging areas, especially on the Vermont side.

This past week saw some outstanding largemouth and smallmouth catches, especially around Ticonderoga. Vermont angler Roy Gangloff landed a 7-pound, 13-ounce largemouth on a 1/2-ounce chartreuse black back Rat-L-Trap, proving again that lipless crankbaits rule the spring bite. Bass are feeding hard ahead of the spawn and Rat-L-Traps, jerkbaits, and slow-rolled swimbaits in perch patterns continue to put up numbers. Hot baits for smallies include white or natural tube jigs, Ned rigs, and drop-shot rigs with live shad or soft plastics. Largemouth are pounding chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, and the always reliable Senko.

Lake trout are doing well, with stable populations reported and a lot of healthy fish showing up in the broader main lake basins. Jigging with white tubes or trolling with spoons like DB Smelt has been consistent. With lamprey numbers under control, expect more quality trout this season. Yellow perch are biting readily in the shallows, particularly in protected bays, on small minnows or worms.

Walleye season is just starting to heat up, with anglers picking up keepers during the low light windows, especially around drop-offs near the mouths of Otter Creek and the Lamoille River. Try using a jig tipped with a crawler or minnow.

Top hot spots today include the Ticonderoga flats for big largemouth and the Sandbar causeway area east of South Hero for aggressive smallmouth feeding on bait balls. For trout and salmon shots, head off Willsboro Bay and start trolling mid-depths with small spoons.

If you’re heading out, bring your polarized glasses and keep an eye on the shallows for cruising fish. The bite is steady, and it’s shaping up to be a banner spring on Champlain.

Tight lines and see you on the water!