Lake Champlain smallmouth firing post-spawn as salmon seek the depths

What's Biting

What's Next

With water at 71°F and the New Moon arriving June 13, the next 48–72 hours set up as a strong window for smallmouth anglers who fish the low-light edges.

The new moon phase tends to concentrate feeding activity at dawn and dusk rather than spreading it across the full day. Plan to be on the water by first light — rocky points, gravel bars, and emerging weed edges are all worth working hard in the first two hours. Tactical Bassin (blog) has documented this early-summer pattern on comparable Great Lakes smallmouth water: start with a finesse swimbait for numbers, then switch to a heavier swing-head or wobble-head jig once fish have been located and fired up. Wired 2 Fish echoes the mid-morning transition — once surface temperatures climb, bass push off the shallows and settle near offshore structure or deeper weed edges where bottom presentations and mid-depth crankbaits outperform anything near the surface.

For landlocked salmon, conditions are likely to tighten further over the coming days unless meaningful nighttime cooling drops the thermocline. At 71°F, salmon are well above their comfort threshold and will be holding near whatever thermocline has established in the main lake basin. If salmon are your target, a downrigger or lead-core trolling setup reaching 25–40 feet is the most reliable way to find them. As you move out from shore, watch for a pronounced temperature break — that thermal refuge is where fish will concentrate.

No significant weather-driven upwelling events appear in this cycle's angler-intel feeds that would be expected to reset surface conditions quickly. The dominant pattern heading into the weekend favors continued early-summer warmth, which sustains the smallmouth structure bite and keeps salmon pinned deep. Check local forecasts before heading out — afternoon thunderstorms are common across the Champlain Basin in June and can occasionally trigger a brief topwater response even on otherwise warm afternoons.

Context

Mid-June on Lake Champlain marks a well-established seasonal pivot for both target species, and the current 71°F reading is broadly consistent with what the lake typically sees during this window.

Smallmouth bass complete their spawn by late May to early June across most of the lake's warmer, shallower bays, and by the second week of June the majority of fish are out of nest-guarding mode and actively rebuilding energy reserves. This post-spawn feeding window is historically one of the most reliable periods on the lake — fish are aggressive, distributed across accessible structure, and responsive to a wide range of presentations. Annual variation of several degrees is common depending on spring weather patterns, and the lake's size and depth mean that temperatures in sheltered bays can run notably warmer than what a main-channel gauge records.

Landlocked salmon tell a different story at this point in the calendar. Field & Stream's temperature guidance for cold-water species makes clear that salmonids enter measurable stress once water climbs past the mid-60s°F — landlocked Champlain salmon are no exception. Historically, the inland salmon fishery on the lake peaks in late May through early June, when fish remain catchable in 15–20 feet of water, before transitioning to a pronounced summer slowdown as surface temperatures push through June and July. That slowdown appears to be underway based on the current reading.

No Vermont-specific state-agency reports or Lake Champlain charter captain data appeared in this cycle's angler-intel feeds to provide a direct year-over-year comparison for the 2026 season. Anglers seeking the most current on-the-water intel should consult Vermont Fish and Wildlife's weekly angler summaries directly. The framing above reflects typical seasonal patterns for this region rather than specific 2026 observations.