BG
Bronzeback Guide Service
Highgate Springs, VT
Fishes Lake Champlain
Lake · Champlain Valley · Vermont
Lake Champlain Fishing Guides and Conditions, Vermont
A hundred and twenty miles of water between the Green Mountains and the Adirondacks, and one of the best mixed-species fisheries in the country.
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Guides on the Lake Champlain
Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.
About the Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain runs a hundred and twenty miles between Vermont and New York, with Quebec at the top end, and it is one of the great mixed fisheries of North America. It has deep cold basins, enormous shallow weedy bays, rocky islands, river mouths and everything in between, which is why it holds so many species and supports so many different kinds of fishing.
Smallmouth bass are what the lake is best known for nationally. The rock, the drop-offs and the island shoals produce them in numbers and size that have made Champlain a regular stop on national tournament circuits. Largemouth are equally strong in the weedy bays, and it is genuinely a lake where you can choose which species to chase on a given morning.
The coldwater fishery is serious in its own right, with lake trout and landlocked Atlantic salmon in the deeper northern and central basins. Walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and chain pickerel fill out a species list that few lakes anywhere can match.
Ice fishing is a major season, particularly in the shallower bays, and the perch and pike fishing through the ice is excellent when the lake makes it.
The lake is large enough to be dangerous. It builds serious water in a north or south blow, and the fetch through the broad lake is long.
The gauge below reports both lake level and water temperature at Burlington. Champlain level swings meaningfully with snowmelt and rain, and the temperature reading is the practical guide to which of the lake several fisheries is currently on.
Pool right now
93.97ft NAVD88
- 24 hours-0.01 ft → steady
- Water temperature68 F
Reading taken 36 min ago at USGS 04294500, LAKE CHAMPLAIN AT BURLINGTON, VT. Elevation is the surface of the lake above the survey datum, not depth. Source.
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Access
Burlington and Shelburne Bay: ramps and services on the Vermont shore.
Malletts Bay and St Albans Bay: sheltered northern access.
Grand Isle and North Hero: island access to the broad lake.
Vermont state park ramps are spread along the eastern shore.
The New York shore has its own extensive access and separate regulations.
Ice access in winter is from the bays rather than the broad lake.
Note: a very large lake that builds dangerous water quickly. Watch the forecast.
Seasons
Winter: perch and pike through the ice in the bays, and smelt when they run.
Spring: salmon and lake trout near the surface, then the bass spawn in the bays.
Summer: smallmouth on the shoals, largemouth in the weeds, deep trout offshore.
Fall: the best smallmouth of the year and the coldwater fish shallow again.
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Questions
What species can you catch on the Lake Champlain?
Anglers target Chain Pickerel, Lake Trout, Landlocked Salmon, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Yellow Perch on the Lake Champlain in Vermont.
Are there fishing guides on the Lake Champlain?
GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Lake Champlain. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.
Where can you access the Lake Champlain?
Burlington and Shelburne Bay: ramps and services on the Vermont shore. Malletts Bay and St Albans Bay: sheltered northern access. Grand Isle and North Hero: island access to the broad lake. Vermont state park ramps are spread along the eastern shore. The New York shore has its own extensive access and separate regulations. Ice access in winter is from the bays rather than the broad lake. Note: a very large lake that builds dangerous water quickly. Watch the forecast.
When is the best time to fish the Lake Champlain?
Winter: perch and pike through the ice in the bays, and smelt when they run. Spring: salmon and lake trout near the surface, then the bass spawn in the bays. Summer: smallmouth on the shoals, largemouth in the weeds, deep trout offshore. Fall: the best smallmouth of the year and the coldwater fish shallow again.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Lake Champlain?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Vermont agency site: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/fish/fishing-regulations