Early Winter Champlain Strategies: Smallmouth, Lakers, and Slow Presentations for Late Fall Bites

Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain rundown. Conditions are classic early winter: cold air, water temps sliding into the upper 30s to low 40s, light to moderate northwest breeze, and a mix of clouds and filtered sun. Sunrise is around mid‑7 o’clock in the morning with sunset mid‑4s in the afternoon, so the bite window is tight and low‑light periods matter.

Tides aren’t a factor on Champlain, but water levels and river inflows are. Expect slightly low but stable levels and fairly clear main‑lake water, with some stain where the big rivers dump in. That clarity, plus the cold, has fish pulled off the bank and holding on edges, rock, and deeper breaks rather than up in the grass.

Recent action has centered on smallmouth with some bonus lake trout and the odd late‑season largemouth. Numbers aren’t summer‑fast, but folks working slow and deep have been putting a dozen or so quality smallmouth in the boat on good outings, with fish in the 2.5–4 pound class and an occasional bigger bronzeback. Lake trout are showing on deeper main‑lake structure and can make for steady action once a school is located.

Best baits right now are all about subtlety and staying in the strike zone. On smallmouth, think:
- 3–3.5 inch swimbaits on light jig heads, crept just off bottom.
- Ned rigs and small tubes in natural goby or green pumpkin tones.
- Blade baits and spoons yo‑yoed on steep breaks when fish are grouped up.

For lake trout, vertical presentations shine:
- Heavy spoons and jigging raps worked over 60–120 feet.
- White or pearl soft plastics on heavier heads dropped to marked fish.

Live bait can be a difference‑maker: medium shiners or small suckers on a slip‑sink­er or float rig, fished around rock humps and points, will tempt neutral bronzebacks and lingering largemouth. Use light fluorocarbon leaders and be patient; bites can feel like extra weight instead of a thump.

Two local hot spots to keep on your radar:
- The Inland Sea and the Gut: Deep edges, rock, and current pinch points that hold winter smallmouth. Work the breaks and subtle humps with Ned rigs and small swimbaits.
- Converse Bay down to Thompson’s Point on the Vermont side: Classic main‑lake structure with rock and drops that set up well for both smallmouth and lake trout this time of year.

Fish slow, watch your electronics, and don’t be afraid to sit on a pod of marks and grind them out. The big girls still eat in this cold, just not fast.

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