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Weather's hot, fishing is great

Delavan Lake 7/16/12 through 7/23/12

The dry weather continues and the good fishing continues as well. Most of the fish are in their late summer pattern. The fish are a bit deeper than most people are fishing. Most of the fish are in 15-20 feet of water. The boat traffic has been crazy, you want to get to the launch before 6 a.m. and off by 11 a.m. The lake is as busy as it has ever been.

Largemouth bass are schooling on deep water points. The best depth is 15-20 feet of water. They can be caught on a split shot rigged night crawlers or a swimming All Terrain jig. The best color has been black and blue with a black trailer. Look for the fish west of Willow Point or by Browns Channel. All Terrain jigs can be purchased at Lakeside Bait and Tackle across the street from the boat launch. As a guide I’ve noticed that people are fishing fast, if you catch one you have the possibility of catching 10 since they are schooled up. Slow down a bit because the fish will bite on concurrent casts.

Northern pike action has been relatively slow. You can catch some while trolling the weed line in 18-20 feet of water. The action isn’t as good as years past, but if you put the time in you will catch them. The best location has been by Belvidere Park or west of the Yacht Club. I’ve been lindy rigging medium suckers in 18-20 feet of water.

Bluegill fishing has been slow. The fish have been in 15-20 feet of water. I have been catching a few; however, the bite has been reduced a bit. Most of the fish are being caught on split shot rigged leaf worms or hellgrammites. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or by the Yacht Club.

Walleye fishing has been above average for this time of year.  Most of the fish are being caught trolling. You want to fish a crankbait in 15-20 feet of water right off the weed line. I’ve been using Bandit 300 series or deep diving Fat free shad bombers. The deal has been first light or a night for the most action.

Perch fishing has been good by the Township Park or by the outlet by Assembly Park. The depth has been 9-10 feet of water for the best success. You want to fish hellgrammites underneath a slip bobber.

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

Daily Reports

7/15/12 - Geneva Lake, sunny, 85 degrees, SW winds at 10 mph. Water temp 79 degrees. Caught one largemouth, one smallmouth and a bunch of rock bass and bluegills. This trip was to get someone acclimated to fishing for the first time. We caught between 50 and 75 fish total. The main lake points produced the most fish.

7/14/12 - Geneva Lake, sunny, SW winds at 10 mph, air temp 80 degrees, water temp 78 degrees. Caught six largemouth, four were legal, four smallmouth, two were legal and a bunch of panfish. Fished the main lake points with a split shot rigged night crawler. The boat traffic was chaotic and the fish seemed to stop biting around 10 a.m.

7/13/12 - Geneva Lake, sunny, SW wind at 5 mph, 75 degrees, water temp 78 degrees. Caught one lake trout, nine largemouth, and three smallmouth. Fished the early a.m. for lake trout and once the sun came up, fished for bass on the main lake points. Most of the success came out of 12 feet of water. A night crawler on a split shot produced the most fish.

7/11/12 - Geneva Lake, no wind, sunny, 60 degrees, water temp 79 degrees. Fished for Lake Trout, caught two, approximately 20 and 24 inches. Fished 85 feet down in 112 feet of water. Nickel/chrome spoons caught all the fish. Fished in front of Conference Point and Cedar Point.

Geneva Lake 7/16/12 through 7/23/12

Geneva Lake fishing has been great even considering the hot weather.  Both smallmouth and largemouth can be readily caught in relatively shallow water. Lake Trout fishing has been phenomenal. You want to fish first light or in dusk conditions.

Lake trout fishing has been great in the main lake basin in 106-112 feet of water. The fish are being caught 85-90 feet down. The key is getting your spoons free of weeds and trolling between 1.8 and 2.0 mph. I’ve been catching most of the fish on nickel/blue spoons.  

Due to the time of year, the largemouth bass are schooled up on main lake points. Look for the fish on Black Point, Conference Point and Coleman's Point. The fish are in 12-15 feet of water; they are very active. You can either Carolina rig or fish a split shot rigged night crawler. People that are Carolina rigging should use a 24-inch leader and Zoom lizard in green pumpkin. For those fishing with night crawlers, use a split shot rig and a 20-inch leader.  

Perch fishing has been very good. The problem is that you need to sort through a lot of small ones to catch a good limit. The best locations have been Rainbow Point and Belvidere Park. The best presentation has been a split shot rigged leaf worm or small fat head minnow. Most of the fish are 4-6 inches but if you are patient you will get your limit of 10- to 12-inch fish.

Smallmouth bass are starting to move deep. They can be caught on either a split shot rigged night crawler or Carolina rigging a green pumpkin Lizard. The best location has been by Elgin Club or Black Point.  You want to keep your leader length at about 20 inches for the best success. In the next couple of weeks, the fish will be moving into 25-28 feet of water. At that point, you want to lindy rig a night crawler or yellow perch caught from the lake.

Northern pike have been positioned on the thermocline. They are located in about 30 feet of water. You can catch them lindy rigging suckers or chubs about 6 inches off bottom. The fish have been most aggressive in Fontana or on the north shore of the narrows.

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

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.