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As summer winds down, fishing still good

Geneva Lake 8/20/12 through 8/27/12

Fishing on Geneva Lake continues to be excellent with very light boat traffic in the morning. It certainly isn’t seeing the same amount of fishing pressure that Lake Delavan is experiencing.

Largemouth bass are on the deep weed line in 18-20 feet of water. The fish are being caught using three different methods. The first is Carolina rigging, using a 24-inch leader and a 6-inch green pumpkin lizard. The second is dragging a football head jig with a Arkies Crawlin’ Grub in green pumpkin or root beer color. The third method is lindy rigging night crawlers. I’m using a walking sinker as light as possible that still allows you to fish vertical with the bottom. The best locations have been by the old Military Academy or Trinkes.

Smallmouth bass are biting in 25-28 feet of water. You want to find rock points in the deeper water with scattered weeds. The best location has been by Conference Point or by the Military Academy. The best approach has been drop shotting Yum Houdini worms or Lindy rigging night crawlers. It’s been pretty good fishing; once you find one fish you usually can find a bunch.

Bluegill action has been phenomenal in Geneva Bay. The best depth is 12-15 feet of water. They are biting on leaf worms or night crawlers that are being drifted on a split shot rig. Another good location has been by Elgin Club or in Williams Bay.

Rock bass fishing has been excellent, but usually always is. The bigger rockies are coming out of 20-25 feet of water. The best approach is lindy rigging night crawlers or fishing small hair jigs. There are a bunch of rock bass by the Military Academy and by Knollwood.

Northern Pike action has been good. They are being found in 35 feet of water and are aggressively hitting a lindy rigged sucker. The best location has been in Fontana or just east of Cedar Point. As a rule, during a 4-hour trip, you can expect to catch six to eight fish, with a really good day being 12 fish. The fish aren’t schooled up as heavy as usual so I’ve been moving around a lot.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at (608) 883-2050.

Delavan Lake 8/20/12 through 8/27/12

Fishing continues to be above average on Delavan Lake. The bass are hitting well and the bluegills are also a tremendous bite right now. The boat traffic is still pretty high, but with school starting in the next week or two it should decrease significantly.

Bluegills continue to bite in 30 feet of water suspended 10-15 feet down. The best location has been by Assembly Park or off the flat, west of Willow Point. The best bait is leaf worms fished on a split shot rig. Most of the fish are biting first thing in the morning.

Largemouth bass are being caught using two different methods. One is a split shot rig with a night crawler; the second is a Thill big fish slip bobber fished with a medium sucker. What I’ve been doing is positioning the boat in 15-20 feet of water, then casting my slip bobber into 6-8 feet of water. The key is finding sandy pockets in the weeds. The best locations are west of Willow Point and by Del Mar subdivision. Also, the fish can be caught while Wacky rigging Senkos in 6 feet of water, with Green pumpkin being the best color. It works best to keep the boat moving, as the fish have been scattered.

Northern pike action is still slow. If you catch one or two per trip, that would be considered success at this point. The fish I’ve been catching have been caught on Thill Big Fish slip bobbers in 8-9 feet of water. They have also been on the small side.

Walleye fishing has also been on the slow side. The active fish are being caught on leeches or night crawlers. The best depth has been 18-20 feet of water. Look for the fish by Willow Point or the Yacht Club. The most important factor is the time of day, with the majority of fish being taken at dusk or dawn.

Crappie action has been decent. The fish are suspended 8-10 feet down in 30 feet of water. The fish can be caught on purple and chartreuse plastics. Look for the fish by Belvidere Park and the Oriental Boat House.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at (608) 883-2050.

Daily Reports

8/19/12 Delavan Lake, 70 degrees and sunny, water temp 74 degrees, light winds out of the north. Caught 14 largemouth bass and one northern pike. The fish were caught on split shot rigged night crawlers or a slip bobber fished with a medium sucker. The best depth was 10-12 feet of water. The boat traffic was intense so every spot had people on it.

8/18/12 Lake Geneva, 70 degrees and sunny, water temp 73 degrees, winds light out of the SW. Caught 10 smallmouth and a bunch of rock bass. The fish were caught on a rock point in 20 feet of water. The best presentation was lindy rigging night crawlers. Once you found the active school, it was pretty much one after the other.

8/14/12 p.m. Delavan Lake, 75 degrees and sunny, water temp 75 degrees, winds SW at 10 mph. Caught one northern pike, six largemouth bass, one 19" walleye and many bluegills. The fish were on the weed line in 15-17 feet of water. All the fish were caught on split shot rigged night crawlers.

8/14/12 a.m. Lake Geneva, 70 degrees and sunny, water temp 75 degrees, winds SW at 10-15 mph. Caught 15 smallmouth bass, two largemouth and a bunch of rock bass. Tried a lot of spots for Carolina rigging, the fish were hitting short and we didn't catch many. We tried drop shotting and lindy rigging night crawlers in 25 feet of water and then we ended up with a whole bunch.

Dave Duwe has been a fishing guide on Delavan and Geneva lakes for nearly 20 years. Dave is a community blogger and is not a part of Walworth County Today staff. His opinion is not necessarily that of Walworth County Today staff or management.