Lake · Vermont
Lake Champlain at Burlington
Current Lake Rating
Point-in-time lake rating — separate from the trip recommendation below.
Excellent93
Conditions look excellent for a Generic fishing trip. Light to moderate wind should make casting and boat control easier.
Scores are model-specific and are not directly comparable across water types.
Rating confidence: Medium
Should I Go?
Go
Fishing guidance for this destination based on available lake conditions, weather, and seasonal context. It is not a boating, swimming, ice, or access-safety rating.
Recommendation confidence: Medium (70)
Guidance uses the shared lake fishing model. It is not destination-specific calibration.
Best window
Sat, 10:00 AM–1:00 PM
Why
- Light to moderate wind should make casting and boat control easier
- Recent precipitation has been light.
- Low chance of precipitation.
Current Readings
- Water level
- 93.96 ft
- Change over 24 hours
- +0.02 ft
- Trend
- Rising
- Water temperature
- 21.8 °C
- Last updated
- 50 min ago
≈ 71.2 °F
Source: USGS · LAKE CHAMPLAIN AT BURLINGTON, VT · 04294500 · Elevation, lake/res, NAVD88
Better Nearby Options
Checking nearby StrikeTracks waters…
Weather Near Lake
Current Weather
Clear
Temperature
62°F
Feels like
62°F
Wind
7 mph NW
Wind gust
12 mph
Current precipitation
0.00 in
Updated
Sep 5, 2026, 3:45 AM
Recent Rainfall
Estimated precipitation near this lake
Last 6 hours
0.00 in
Last 24 hours
0.00 in
Last 48 hours
0.00 in
Little recent rainfall near this lake.
Next 24 Hours
Sat 4 AM
Clear
Temp 62°F
Chance 1%
Precip 0.00 in
Wind 7 mph
Sat 8 AM
Overcast
Temp 63°F
Chance 3%
Precip 0.00 in
Wind 8 mph
Sat 12 PM
Mostly clear
Temp 69°F
Chance 1%
Precip 0.00 in
Wind 12 mph
Sat 4 PM
Partly cloudy
Temp 72°F
Chance 13%
Precip 0.00 in
Wind 13 mph
Sat 8 PM
Mostly clear
Temp 66°F
Chance 5%
Precip 0.00 in
Wind 8 mph
Sun 12 AM
Overcast
Temp 63°F
Chance 2%
Precip 0.00 in
Wind 6 mph
Four-Day Forecast
Sat, Sep 5
Overcast
High 72°F / Low 61°F
Chance 21%
Precip 0.00 in
Max gust 21 mph
Sun, Sep 6
Overcast
High 71°F / Low 56°F
Chance 12%
Precip 0.00 in
Max gust 19 mph
Mon, Sep 7
Overcast
High 76°F / Low 52°F
Chance 12%
Precip 0.00 in
Max gust 17 mph
Tue, Sep 8
Overcast
High 69°F / Low 53°F
Chance 10%
Precip 0.00 in
Max gust 16 mph
Weather and rainfall are estimated for this lake's coordinates. Local conditions can vary, especially in mountainous terrain and during isolated storms.
Recent rainfall can influence lake level and access, but the timing and magnitude depend on watershed size, soil conditions, and reservoir operations where applicable.
Weather data: Open-Meteo
Lake Elevation History
Elevation is reported relative to the datum used by this USGS monitoring site. Elevations from different lakes or datums should not be directly compared.
Loading historical elevation…
Fishery Profile
Documented species you may encounter at Lake Champlain.
Species images are AI-generated illustrations for visual reference and may simplify natural variation. Fishery records are based on the cited agency sources. About fish illustrations
Fishery overview
Lake Champlain at Burlington is Vermont’s principal large border-lake fishery with lake trout, landlocked salmon, bass, walleye, northern pike, yellow perch, and stocked brown/rainbow trout. USGS lake monitoring location 04294500 provides live water temperature at Burlington. This record represents the Burlington monitoring point, not lake-wide NY/VT conditions.
Target species
Lake Trout
Salvelinus namaycush
- Expectation
- Primary
- Population
- Wild
- Native status
- native
- Confidence
- High confidence
USFWS Lake Champlain strategic plan identifies lake trout among dominant coldwater predators; dual coldwater/warmwater/walleye primaries intentionally remain mixed/generic.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Landlocked Salmon
Salmo salar
- Expectation
- Primary
- Population
- Stocked
- Native status
- native
- Confidence
- High confidence
USFWS plan identifies Atlantic salmon among dominant coldwater predators; stocking and restoration remain a Cooperative focus.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Largemouth Bass
Micropterus nigricans
- Expectation
- Primary
- Population
- Established
- Native status
- introduced
- Confidence
- High confidence
USFWS plan lists largemouth bass among important warmwater sport fishes; dual fishery focus keeps Burlington Champlain generic/mixed.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Smallmouth Bass
Micropterus dolomieu
- Expectation
- Primary
- Population
- Established
- Native status
- introduced
- Confidence
- High confidence
USFWS plan lists smallmouth bass among important warmwater sport fishes; Cooperative annual reports document high bass angler targeting.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Walleye
Sander vitreus
- Expectation
- Primary
- Population
- Established
- Native status
- native
- Confidence
- High confidence
USFWS plan identifies walleye among coolwater sport fishes; recorded as primary alongside coldwater and bass to document multi-focus mixed fishery.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Brown Trout
Salmo trutta
- Expectation
- Common
- Population
- Stocked
- Native status
- introduced
- Confidence
- Medium confidence
USFWS plan lists brown trout among coldwater predators managed with stocking in the basin.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Northern Pike
Esox lucius
- Expectation
- Common
- Population
- Established
- Native status
- native
- Confidence
- High confidence
USFWS plan lists northern pike among important warmwater/coolwater sport fishes.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Rainbow Trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss
- Expectation
- Common
- Population
- Stocked
- Native status
- introduced
- Confidence
- Medium confidence
USFWS plan lists steelhead/rainbow trout among coldwater predators; recorded as rainbow-trout (no separate steelhead species ID).
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Yellow Perch
Perca flavescens
- Expectation
- Common
- Population
- Established
- Native status
- native
- Confidence
- High confidence
USFWS plan identifies yellow perch among coolwater species and major forage/sport components.
Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Fishery characteristics
- Composition
- Mixed wild and stocked
Large NY/VT border lake with deep coldwater salmonid habitat and extensive warmwater/coolwater shoreline and bay habitat near Burlington.
Best seasons
- Spring
- Summer
- Fall
- Winter
Common techniques
- Boat fishing
- Shore fishing
- Spinning
- Trolling
Access and Public Fishing Rights
Public launches and shore access exist around Burlington and the broader Vermont Champlain shore; confirm current sites on the official VFWD fishing access search. Catalog coordinates are the USGS Burlington monitoring point.
Stocking information
Interstate Lake Champlain management supports lake trout and landlocked salmon fisheries; confirm current VFWD stockings on the official schedule.
- Stocked
Landlocked Salmon
Stocked · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Stocked
Brown Trout
Stocked · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Stocked
Rainbow Trout
Stocked · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Official sources
Lake Champlain border-water and Vermont inland rules can differ by species and zone. Always verify current Vermont Fish & Wildlife and applicable border-water regulations before fishing.
Fishing target
Choose a fishing target to update Hatch Match and target-scoped guidance for that fishery. Current Lake Rating and Should I Go? stay the same.
Hatch Match
Select a fishing target to see seasonal activity for this lake. Coldwater and warmwater fisheries use separate calendars.
Location and Access
Cataloged lake location
Vermont
The map marker represents the cataloged waterbody or monitoring location and may not indicate legal parking or public access. Confirm access through the official information before visiting.
Lake Details
Description
USGS lake/reservoir monitoring location 04294500 (LAKE CHAMPLAIN AT BURLINGTON, VT). Coordinates are the USGS monitoring-location point. App-supported continuous parameters currently available: water temperature (00010). Also reports lake/reservoir elevation NGVD29 (62614); lake/reservoir elevation NAVD88 (62615). Surface area, depth, access, and species fields are left blank pending confirmation from authoritative state or federal recreation sources. Intentional second Lake Champlain monitoring site (with lake-champlain-at-port-henry); Burlington, VT provides a Vermont shoreline reference distinct from the Port Henry, NY site.
