Lake Champlain is famous for its trophy class fisheries. In recent years, the lake has produced numerous outstanding fish.
In June 2025, 10-year-old Grayson Carey of Colchester set a new Vermont state record for freshwater drum while competing in the Lake Champlain International Father’s Day Derby with his father and grandfather.
Also known as “sheepshead”, the fish weighed 28.5 pounds and measured 37 ½ inches long with a 29-inch girth. Carey’s drum outweighed the previous state record by three pounds.
Grayson’s father, Jason Carey, said the catch was no accident.
“We’ve been targeting drum during the derby for years,” Carey said. “They’re big, they fight hard, and they’re a blast to catch. If you’re fishing the right areas at the right time, you can absolutely catch them on purpose.”
In 2018, Jason Carey set an LCI Father’s Day Derby record with a 24.97 pound Freshwater Drum. The record stood until his son broke it in 2025 while also establishing a new all-time Vermont state record.
Grayson’s catch earned first place in the LCI’s Extraordinary Category, the first-place team prize, the Junior Warmwater Grand Prize, and multiple bonus awards. Combined with setting new derby and lake records, the fish netted him more than $26,000 in prize winnings.
Lake Champlain Steelhead
In 2025, Carl Petri landed an 11.65 pound steelhead (rainbow trout) from Lake Champlain. The fish measured 29 inches in length and had an 18-inch girth. Although not a Vermont state record, the catch was the largest steelhead recorded from the lake.
Steelhead are a form of rainbow trout that inhabit large freshwater lakes like Lake Champlain, but migrate into tributary rivers to spawn.
Lake run steelhead grow to large sizes and migrate into rivers to spawn. Lake Champlain steelhead are usually brighter and more powerful than stream-resident rainbows.
Lake Champlain Bass Fishing
Lake Champlain is recognized nationally for its outstanding bass fishing. 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 2023, Lake Champlain was listed on Bassmaster Magazine’s top 100 best bass lakes in the country.
In 2021, Lake Champlain was listed in Bassmaster Magazine’s top 25 bass lakes in the Northeast.
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.”
Lake Champlain Carp Fishing
In May of 2022, bowfishing enthusiast Jacob Kinney set a new Vermont state record for common carp during a nighttime bowfishing trip on Lake Champlain. Kinney’s record-setting carp weighed 63.4 pounds. The monster carp measured 39.25 inches in length with a girth of 37.25 inches.
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department fisheries biologist Shawn Good, who administers the state’s Record Fish Program, says Kinney’s carp is the heaviest fish ever entered in the program.
“The department started tracking state record fish in 1969, and this 63 pound carp is far and away the largest fish ever entered,” said Good. “As a matter of fact, looking through the more than 1,200 entries received over the last 53 years, seven of the ten biggest fish on the list are carp.
Kinney’s monster carp smashed the previous record set in 2021 by Bradley DiSorda. Also taken on Lake Champlain by bow, Disorda’s carp weighed 44 pounds 11 ounces.
More Lake Champlain State Record Fish
In August 2020, angler Jeffery Sanford set a Vermont state record with a 19.36-pound lake trout caught in Lake Champlain. Sanford was jigging in more than 100 feet of water, when he landed the 36.5 inch lake trout.
In June 2016, Amelia Whalen caught a record breaking freshwater drum from Lake Champlain. The fish measured 36.5 inches and weighed 29 pounds 14 ounces. Whalen’s catch held the New York state record until 2017 when a larger fish was caught.
sources: Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
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