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Fishing is fantastic

Delavan Lake 6/24/12 through 7/2/12

Fishing on Delavan Lake has been fantastic. Almost all of the species of fish are biting. The only thing that hampered fishing last week was the strong SW wind, but if you could manage the wind, you could catch fish.

Walleye fishing has been good at dusk and dawn. They are positioned on the main lake points in about 20-22 feet of water. The best approach is lindy rigging leaches or night crawlers and slowly back trolling. It seems that a 24- inch leader with a chartreuse hook has been really productive.

The bluegills have moved out of the shallows. The bigger fish can be caught in 16-18 feet of water. You want to use a small leaf worm or red worm. I personally have been using just a small hook and fishing under the boat. Once you find an active school it doesn’t take long to catch a limit. Good locations have been by Browns Channel or by Willow Point.

Largemouth bass are positioned on the outside of the weed line in 16-18 feet of water. Good locations have been by the Yacht Club, just west of Willow Point and by Belvidere Park. The best success for me has been medium diving crank baits or a split shot rigged night crawler. A secondary bite has been around the piers. The bass like areas where there is hard sand bottom with just a little slimy weed. My favorite docks are on the north shore.

Northern pike action has been moderate. The best bait continues to be medium suckers fished on a lindy rig. The best depth is 16-18 feet of water. The fish still have not schooled up--that is probably a week away yet. I’m just getting a couple every trip. Good locations include Belvidere Park or Willow Point.

Perch have been biting by the Township Park. They are in 10-12 feet of water. The best approach has been slip bobbers with hellgrammites. There are quite a few small ones so you need to do some sorting. This bite should last for most of the summer.

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

Daily Reports

6/24/12 - Delavan Lake, sunny, 75 degrees, light winds out of the west, water temp 74 degrees. Caught about 150 bluegills, four to five largemouth bass and one walleye. The bluegills were caught on red worms fished with a small split shot. The walleye was caught on a lindy rigged leach.

6/23/12 - Delavan Lake, sunny, 75 degrees, SW wind at 5 mph. Water temp 74 degrees. Caught 16 largemouth bass--eight were legal, four walleyes and two northern--one was 33 inches. The legal northern was caught on a night crawler, the walleyes were caught on lindy rigged jumbo leaches. The fish were positioned on the outside of the weedl ine.

6/21/12 - Delavan Lake, Sunny, 85 degrees, NW wind at 10 mph. Water temp 74 degrees. Caught 16 largemouth, one walleye, one smallmouth and one northern. The best location was in 18 feet of water off the weed points. Caught most of the fish on split shot rigged night crawlers.

6/20/12 - Lake Geneva, Sunny, 93 degrees, SW wind at 25 mph. Water temp 74 degrees. Caught nine largemouth--five were legal. Due to the strong winds, the only location fished was Trinkes. The best depth was 12 feet of water.

6/18/12 - Lake Geneva, sunny, 90 degrees, S wind at 25 mph. Water temp 70 degrees. Caught seven smallmouth bass, one largemouth bass and many rock bass. Due to the strong south wind, the only place you could fish was by Abbey Springs and the Military Academy. The best depth was 10 feet of water.

Lake Geneva 6/24/12 through 7/2/12

Fishing continues to be very good. The best action on the lake has been largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and rock bass. Largemouth bass have been positioned in the shallow weed flats while the smallmouth bass have been on the break line.

Largemouth bass fishing has been excellent. The best location has been by the Military Academy, Trinkes and in Williams Bay. The depth varies from day to day. I usually start in 8 feet and go as deep as 14 feet of water. Once you find the active fish, they’ve been pretty easy to catch. Pre-rigged worms in purple and black have been producing a lot of fish. You want to use a very slow methodical retrieve.

Smallmouth bass have been off the break lines in 14-16 feet of water. They can be caught on white hair jigs or on lindy rigged night crawlers. The best location has been by the Yacht Club and by the Military academy. Some of the days last week, when the wind was blowing, they were stacked up and you could catch a bunch.

Rock bass have been positioned in areas with hard sand bottoms with scattered weeds. The best location has been by Colemans Point and by Elgin Club. Night crawlers fished on a split shot rig have been producing a lot of fish. The best depth has been 10-12 feet.

Bluegill fishing has been excellent in Geneva Bay. The best depth is 7-8 feet of water. The best bait has been leaf worms fished on a bobber. You want to position the bait about one foot above the weeds. The fish have been done spawning for about two weeks. As the water warms, they will be heading into deeper water. Once they go deep, they become very nomadic and difficult to pattern, but if you get on a school you will catch a bunch.

Walleye fishing has been good. They’ve been biting at night in 14-15 feet of water. The best bait has been large perch colored stick baits that dive 8-10 feet. The best location has been by Trinkes or Abbey Springs.

Northern Pike still remain shallow and have been hard to catch. With the warm weather, the thermocline should be forming in the next week or so. Then the northern pike action will improve greatly. After the 4th of July, I start targeting the pike. The best approach is a lindy rigged sucker in 27-30 feet of water.

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.