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Fishing Lake Champlain - South Lake: what the data says
18,195-acre section. Crown Point to Whitehall: a narrow, riverine arm full of grass beds, creek mouths and largemouth. Home water of championship bass fishing. The lake tops out around 29 ft. The depth chart is built from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the humps, channels and drop-offs you see are measured, not guessed. What follows comes from the same scoring engine that paints the spots above.
Largemouth Bass fishing at Lake Champlain - South Lake
Start shallow in spring: largemouth bass sit in 2 to 10 ft that time of year. Summer pushes them deeper, 8 to 20 ft, and winter fish settle into 9 to 29 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Weed flat: a weed flat around 5 ft that scores prime in spring. Best bite is early morning and the evening. Summer baits: a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 10 ft | dawn & dusk | Spinnerbait, Chatterbait |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait |
| Fall | 4 to 15 ft | midday & dawn | Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait |
| Winter | 9 to 29 ft | midday | Blade bait, Jigging spoon |
Northern Pike fishing at Lake Champlain - South Lake
Spring northern pike on Lake Champlain - South Lake hold shallow, usually 2 to 8 ft. Summer pushes them deeper, 8 to 20 ft, and winter fish settle into 5 to 15 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Weed flat: a weed flat around 5 ft that scores prime in spring. Plan around early morning and the evening in the warm months. Tie on a bucktail or a weedless spoon over cabbage and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | #5 inline spinner, Spoon (red/white) |
| Summer | 8 to 20 ft | dawn & dusk | Bucktail, Weedless spoon over cabbage |
| Fall | 6 to 18 ft | midday & dawn | Big rubber (Bull Dawg style), Husky-style jerkbait |
| Winter | 5 to 15 ft | midday | Tip-ups, Large jigging spoon |
Smallmouth Bass fishing at Lake Champlain - South Lake
In spring, smallmouth bass run shallow here, mostly 3 to 12 ft. They move out to 9 to 29 ft in summer and finish the year down in 9 to 29 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Shoreline point: a point around 11 ft that scores prime in fall. Best bite is early morning and the evening. A drop shot (goby/minnow) or a ned rig covers the summer program.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dawn & dusk | Ned rig, Tube jig |
| Summer | 9 to 29 ft | dawn & dusk | Drop shot (goby/minnow), Ned rig |
| Fall | 8 to 25 ft | midday & dawn | Jerkbait, Blade bait |
| Winter | 9 to 29 ft | midday | Blade bait, Hair jig |
Crappie fishing at Lake Champlain - South Lake
Spring crappie on Lake Champlain - South Lake hold shallow, usually 2 to 8 ft. By summer they slide out to 10 to 25 ft, and by winter most fish are in 9 to 29 ft. The spot to know is Deepest basin, a deep basin in about 28 ft of water that rates prime for crappie in winter. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. Summer baits: a jig trolled/spider-rigged or a small crankbait (trolled) gets it done.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 2 to 8 ft | midday & dawn | 1/16 oz jig + tube, Curly-tail grub |
| Summer | 10 to 25 ft | dawn & dusk | Jig trolled/spider-rigged, Small crankbait (trolled) |
| Fall | 8 to 20 ft | dawn | Jig + minnow combo, Small swimbait (1.5-2") |
| Winter | 9 to 29 ft | midday | Tungsten jig + soft plastic, Tiny jigging spoon |
Yellow Perch fishing at Lake Champlain - South Lake
Spring yellow perch on Lake Champlain - South Lake hold shallow, usually 3 to 12 ft. They move out to 9 to 29 ft in summer and finish the year down in 9 to 29 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Weed flat: a weed flat around 5 ft that scores prime in spring. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning. Tie on a drop-shot micro plastics or a small spoon tipped with worm and you're in the game.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | midday & dawn | Small jig + curly tail, Perch-pattern micro crank |
| Summer | 9 to 29 ft | dawn | Drop-shot micro plastics, Small spoon tipped with worm |
| Fall | 9 to 29 ft | midday | Jigging spoon (small), Perch rig / spreader |
| Winter | 9 to 29 ft | midday & dawn | Tungsten jig + spikes, Rattle spoon (small) |
Channel Catfish fishing at Lake Champlain - South Lake
Start shallow in spring: channel catfish sit in 3 to 12 ft that time of year. They move out to 8 to 25 ft in summer and finish the year down in 9 to 29 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Poultney River mouth: a inflow / creek mouth around 3 ft that scores prime in spring. Best bite is after dark and the evening.
| Season | Depth | Best window | Go-to baits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | 3 to 12 ft | dusk | |
| Summer | 8 to 25 ft | night & dusk | |
| Fall | 9 to 29 ft | dusk | |
| Winter | 9 to 29 ft | midday |
Lake Champlain - South Lake also holds white perch (9 to 29 ft in summer), rock bass (5 to 20 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.
Notable structure
- Deepest basin: deep basin, around 28 ft
- Sharp break: drop-off, around 20 ft
- Sharp break: drop-off, around 20 ft
- Sharp break: drop-off, around 20 ft
- Shoreline point: point, around 20 ft
- Sharp break: drop-off, around 15 ft
- Shoreline point: point, around 12 ft
- Feeding flat: feeding flat, around 12 ft
- Feeding flat: feeding flat, around 12 ft
- Shoreline point: point, around 11 ft
- Weed flat: weed flat, around 6 ft
- Weed flat: weed flat, around 5 ft
- Weed flat: weed flat, around 5 ft
- Weed flat: weed flat, around 5 ft
Common questions
How deep is Lake Champlain - South Lake?
Lake Champlain - South Lake is about 29 ft at its deepest point. The depth chart here comes from real state fisheries GPS surveys, so the contours reflect measured depths.
What fish are in Lake Champlain - South Lake?
Anglers target largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike, crappie, channel catfish, yellow perch, rock bass, white perch on Lake Champlain - South Lake.
Where is the best fishing spot on Lake Champlain - South Lake?
Weed flat is the top-rated area: a weed flat in about 5 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in spring. Open the map above to see every rated spot for each species and season.
When is the best time to fish Lake Champlain - South Lake?
For largemouth bass, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.
Nearby waters
Lake George · Brant Lake · Paradox Lake · Schroon Lake · Cossayuna Lake · Lake Champlain
See how Lake Champlain - South Lake stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in New York · best smallmouth bass lakes in New York · best northern pike lakes in New York · best crappie lakes in New York
Browse all New York fishing maps or every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry credit: state fisheries survey programs. How we build these maps. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.