Crushing Smallmouth on Lake Champlain with Artificial Lure

Hey folks, this is Artificial Lure coming to you from beautiful Lake Champlain on this Sunday morning, November 30th, 2025. Let me break down what's happening on the water right now.

First, sunrise was around 7:15 AM this morning, and you're looking at sunset hitting around 4:30 PM, so you've got a solid window to get out there. Unfortunately, I don't have real-time tidal data or current weather conditions for this exact moment, but Lake Champlain doesn't experience significant tides like ocean waters do, so that's not a major factor here.

Now here's the exciting part – the lake just hosted an incredible Toyota Series tournament earlier this month, and the bite was absolutely phenomenal. Anglers were catching smallmouth that we haven't seen in years. The fishing reports show postspawn smallmouth dominated, with some anglers putting together bags over 19 pounds consistently.

If you're heading out today, here's what's working: minnow patterns are absolutely crushing it right now. The top anglers were using 5-inch shad imitations – think Yamamoto Shad Shape Worms and Deps Sakamata Shads paired with light jigheads, typically 1/4 to 3/8 ounce. Some guys were throwing Ned rigs with Picasso heads too. For your setup, go with a medium-light spinning rod around 6-10 to 7-4, paired with a quality spinning reel spooled with light braid and a fluorocarbon leader.

Topwater is also producing, especially early and late. Emil Wagner was having success with Berkley J-Walkers throwing shallow and deep.

For hot spots, you've got to check out Malletts Bay – that's where the consistent action was firing. The secondary points with grass lines in 8 to 12 feet of water are absolutely loaded with aggressive smallmouth right now. Also scout the current breaks around pinch points where the water funnels – Kyle Patrick absolutely hammered them around current-holding structure.

The fish are feeding heavily on alewives and baitfish right now, so anything that mimics that profile will work.

Thanks so much for tuning in today, folks. Make sure you subscribe for more Lake Champlain reports and fishing intel throughout the season.

This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out quietplease.ai.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI