Drop Shot Fishing on Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain · Vermont / New York · Northeast
Lake Champlain stretches roughly 120 miles from the New York-Canada border south to Whitehall, covering approximately 490 square miles and reaching depths of 400 feet in its main lake sections. The fishery splits cleanly between the shallow, weedy bays — Missisquoi, Mallets, South Bay — that hold largemouth in timber and aquatic vegetation, and the hard rocky points, shoals, and chunk-rock flats of the main basin that produce exceptional smallmouth. Water clarity trends toward stained in the northern bays and increasingly clear through the main lake, shaping bait selection and approach at nearly every time of year.
The drop shot suspends a soft plastic bait above the bottom on a fixed line, keeping it in the strike zone longer than any other rig. Originally a West Coast technique, it now dominates clear-water and finesse situations nationwide. Works vertically over structure or on a long cast.
Drop Shot Setup for Lake Champlain
| Rod | 7' medium-light to medium spinning rod, fast action |
| Reel | 2500–3000 size spinning reel, 6.2:1 or higher |
| Line | 6–8 lb fluorocarbon main line or 10 lb braid + 8 lb fluoro leader |
| Weight | 1/8–3/8 oz tungsten drop shot weight (heavier in current or deep water) |
| Hook | #1 or #2 Gamakatsu Finesse Wide Gap, 6–18 inches above weight |
Seasonal Tactics on Lake Champlain
Lake: Pre-spawn smallmouth push onto chunk-rock flats and gravel points in 6–12 ft of water as temperatures climb through the low 50s in late April and May; largemouth stage in emerging milfoil and reed-grass edges in the back bays, with jerkbaits and tube jigs drawing the most consistent reaction from both species during this window.
Drop Shot: Target staging fish on points and drop-offs in 8–20 feet. Nose-hook a 6" Roboworm or Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm.
Lake: Smallmouth settle into main-lake rocky structure and offshore humps in the 18–28 ft range once surface temps push past 72 degrees, while largemouth lock into the dense milfoil and water chestnut mats of the northern bays and respond well to punching and hollow-body frogs in low-light conditions.
Drop Shot: Go deep — 20–40 feet on main lake structure. Shake in place with minimal movement. Shad colors dominate.
Lake: October through early November is peak trophy smallmouth season as fish fatten on crayfish ahead of turnover, stacking on rocky points and windswept rip-rap banks in 8–15 ft; the shad and alewife migration in the main lake also draws surface-busting action that rewards topwater and swimbait presentations.
Drop Shot: Follow baitfish to secondary points and pockets. Faster retrieve works as fish get more aggressive.
Lake: Below-freezing surface temps push most bass into a near-dormant state in the deeper main-lake basin, but anglers targeting the 30–45 ft rock-pile transitions with slow-rolled tube jigs and ned rigs can still produce bites on warmer afternoons, particularly on calm, sunny days when water temps momentarily stabilize.
Drop Shot: Slowest presentation of the year. Dead-stick a 4" finesse worm at the bottom. Let it sit 10–15 seconds between shakes.
Best Conditions
Clear to stained water, pressured fish, cold fronts, post-spawn suspended bass, deep structure in summer
Use a Palomar knot and leave the tag end pointing up to keep the hook riding correctly. Most anglers tie it wrong.
More Techniques for Lake Champlain
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