Among the notable catches of the 2025 Vermont fishing season were several black bass that weighed 7 pounds or more, according to Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department (VFWD).
A smallmouth bass caught by Andrew Oestringer tipped the angler’s personal fishing scale at 7 pounds, 6 ounces.
Oestringer caught the heavyweight smallmouth while kayak fishing in Lower Symes Pond and harvested the fish for food.
Oestringer’s bass may have been 10 ounces heavier than the current state record smallmouth. If Andrew Oestringer had brought his bass to a certified scale, he would probably hold a new state record.
“It’s rare but not unheard of for anglers who plan to keep a nice fish for dinner to grab an unofficial weight at home, realize their catch might have been a record, and reach out,” said Shawn Good, a fish biologist with the department and the State Record Fish Program and Master Angler Program administrator. “That’s exactly what Andrew did. Even though Fish & Wildlife can’t accept the weight from a non-certified scale for our official record books, we can all agree this new ‘unofficial record’ is one heck of a fish story.”
The current Vermont state record smallmouth bass weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces. The fish was caught in Lake Eden in 2003 by Issac Spaulding.
Oestringer’s smallmouth bass was one of several notable catches from an inland water entered to the Master Angler Program this season.
In September, student James Lenox landed and harvested a 7 pound largemouth bass from Lake Bomoseen.
Lenox made the impressive catch while scouting for new fishing spots with his father Michael, a teacher at Fair Haven Middle & High School and coach for the school’s Varsity Bass Fishing Team. Lenox’ fish was entered into the Vermont Master Angler Program.
Two bass larger than 7 pounds were entered in 2025. A largemouth bass caught from Neal Pond by Joshua Curtis that weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces. A 7 pound, 8 ounce largemouth bass from Lake Champlain was caught by Roy Gangloff.
In September, another 7 pound largemouth bass was caught from Lake Bomoseen by angler Jason Stevens.
“Small lakes and ponds are the overlooked gems of bass fishing in Vermont, but they support fish every ounce as impressive as the trophies that draw anglers from around the country to fish Lake Champlain,” noted Good.
The Vermont state record largemouth bass, caught in Lake Dunmore in 1988, weighed in at 10 pounds, 4 ounces.
Lake Champlain Bass Fishing
Vermont is recognized nationally for its outstanding bass fishing, especially in Lake Champlain
Smallmouth bass can be found throughout Lake Champlain. Lake Champlain’s rocky bottom composition and abundance of forage species create ideal conditions for smallmouth bass to thrive.
In 2014, World Fishing Network ranked Lake Champlain one of the seven best smallmouth bass lakes in North America.
The ranking, which was first reported on WFN’s website, describes Lake Champlain as “perhaps the best lake in all of North America for both quality largemouth and smallmouth bass.”