Lake Champlain Bass Fishing Guide
Champlain Bass Fishing, Season by Season
A hundred and twenty-five miles of water on the New York and Vermont line, four hundred feet deep in places, holding smallmouth on the rock and largemouth in the grass in roughly equal measure. Champlain is the rare lake where you genuinely have to choose which fish you are chasing.
Two Species, Two Completely Different Lakes
Lake Champlain forms the border between northeastern New York and Vermont, stretching roughly 125 miles long and fourteen at its widest, with a maximum depth around four hundred feet. It is one of the most consistent bass fisheries in the country and a regular stop on the Elite Series out of Plattsburgh.
What defines it is the genuine parity between species. Anglers can pursue largemouth in the shallows or smallmouth in the rocky depths, and both are good enough to win a national tournament. Winners typically total around eighty pounds over four days, with about eighteen pounds a day needed to make the cut and closer to twenty for the final day.
The two games are entirely different. Smallmouth hold on rock, shoals and increasingly out in open water following baitfish — the Inland Sea section is the classic area, and forward-facing sonar has changed how that fishing is done, with anglers targeting pelagic smallmouth suspended in twelve to thirty feet. Largemouth live in the grass, around docks and marinas, and fall to flipping baits, bladed jigs and swim jigs.
Weather sets the terms more than most lakes on this site. Champlain is far enough north that a cool spring pushes everything back, and the water runs cooler from north to south, which changes how anglers approach it year to year.
Season dates matter and they differ by state. New York's black bass harvest season runs 15 June to 30 November; Vermont sets its own. Because the state line runs down the middle of the lake, check the rules for the side you intend to fish.
The scenery is a genuine part of it — the Adirondacks on one side, the Green Mountains on the other — and it is one of the few places on this site where the setting alone justifies the trip.
What It Took to Win Here
Patterns that produced at the highest level on this water, and the baits to fish them with.
Ed Loughran III — Green Fish at a Brown Fish Lake, by One Ounce
Champlain is thought of as a smallmouth lake, and most of the field fished it that way. Loughran won it on largemouth.
He opened in thirty-eighth place with a mixed-bag limit of 19-1 — nothing that suggested what followed. Then he weighed 22-15 and 21-14, both of them largemouth, and jumped into the lead going into the final day.
On Championship Monday he believed he needed another twenty-pound bag. He caught 16-14 of smallmouth instead and left the water expecting to finish somewhere in the top five. It turned out to be exactly enough — 80-12 total, one ounce ahead of Chris Johnston, with rookie Robert Gee a further three ounces back.
The context makes the result more striking, not less. Over the first two days the 101 competitors weighed forty limits over twenty pounds. On a lake producing numbers like that, the man who won did it by ignoring the species everyone else was chasing.
Rock, Grass and Two Games
Four patterns cover the year, within New York's 15 June to 30 November season. Each card pairs the technique with the baits we'd actually tie on.
Check the Rules Before You Launch
Spring on Champlain is governed by regulation as much as by the fish. New York's harvest season does not open until 15 June, and while catch-and-release is permitted on many New York waters beforehand, the rules differ by area and by state across this lake. Vermont sets its own dates. Confirm what applies to the water you intend to fish.
Pelagic Smallmouth and Grass Largemouth
Summer is the tournament season and both games are live. Smallmouth follow baitfish out into open water in the Inland Sea, suspended in twelve to thirty feet, and forward-facing sonar has made that the dominant way the lake is fished at the top level. Meanwhile the largemouth are in the grass, the docks and the marinas.
Feeding Hard Before a Hard Winter
Autumn is short this far north and the fish know it. Both species feed heavily ahead of winter, smallmouth grouping on rock and structure and largemouth using the remaining grass. The lake empties of recreational traffic and the season runs to 30 November on the New York side.
Closed
The New York season closes 30 November, and northern winter closes the rest. Champlain freezes and the open-water bass fishing stops entirely. Any trip here has to be planned inside the summer and autumn window rather than assumed as year-round access.
Lake Champlain Access
Plattsburgh City Marina is the tournament base on the New York side, with additional ramps along both shorelines. The Vermont side has its own access. Check which state's regulations apply to the water you plan to fish.
The Inland Sea
The classic smallmouth area and where the forward-facing sonar game is played. Baitfish schools pull smallmouth into open water, suspended between twelve and thirty feet, and the bigger fish sit with them. Modern Champlain tournaments are frequently decided here.
The Grass and Marinas
Where the largemouth are, and where the 2024 Elite was won. Docks, marinas and various types of vegetation, worked with flipping baits, bladed jigs and swim jigs. Overlooked by anglers who arrive assuming this is a smallmouth lake.
The Rock and Shoals
Traditional smallmouth structure across the lake, including isolated boulders that can hold a single very large fish. A previous Elite here was decided partly by one boulder spotted on sonar while the angler was coming off plane.
Lake Champlain Bass Fishing FAQ
Is Champlain a smallmouth or largemouth lake?
Genuinely both, which is rare. Winners have taken it on either species, and the 2024 Elite was won on largemouth while most of the field chased smallmouth. Choosing which game you intend to play is the first decision on this lake.
When is bass season on Lake Champlain?
New York's harvest season runs 15 June to 30 November. Vermont sets its own dates. Because the state line runs down the middle of the lake, check the regulations for the side you intend to fish before you launch.
What is the Inland Sea?
The section of Champlain where the classic open-water smallmouth fishing happens. Baitfish pull smallmouth off structure into suspended schools between twelve and thirty feet, and forward-facing sonar has made targeting them the dominant approach at tournament level.
What does it take to win here?
Around eighty pounds over four days, with roughly eighteen pounds a day to make the cut and closer to twenty for the final day. In 2024 the 101 competitors weighed forty limits over twenty pounds across the first two days alone.
How big does Champlain get?
About 125 miles long, fourteen miles at its widest, with a maximum depth near four hundred feet. It is genuinely big water and wind is a real consideration.
Does the northern climate change the fishing?
Yes. A cool spring pushes everything later than a southern angler expects, and water runs cooler from north to south across the lake. Watch water temperature rather than dates, and understand that the open-water season here is short.
What baits work best on Lake Champlain?
For smallmouth, finesse presentations on suspended fish and moving baits on rock. For largemouth, flipping baits, bladed jigs and swim jigs in the grass and around docks and marinas. Our full bait lineup covers both games.
Do I need a New York or Vermont license?
Depends where you fish. The lake straddles the state line and each state licenses its own waters and sets its own season dates. Check before you launch, particularly if you plan to move across the lake during the day.
Two Games, Two Rods
A lake where the winning fish might be a suspended smallmouth in twenty feet or a largemouth buried in grass asks for genuinely different tackle. Level Rods builds finesse spinning models for the first and heavy flipping models for the second, without compromising either.
Tournament Winning Baits & Gear
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