On the Lakes: Take to the water early or late for best bites

Dave Duwe | August 16, 2016

Geneva Lake fishing report 8/15/16 through 8/22/16

The summer heat wave is upon us. The fishing remains pretty good as long as you get out early in the a.m. or late in the p.m. The boat traffic on the lake makes fishing in the middle of the day pretty difficult. Most of the fish are relating to deep water structure.The best fishing is consistently the largemouth or walleyes at night.

Smallmouth bass are on the deep water structure in 22-30 feet of water. Look for the fish by Yerkes Observatory, South Shore Club or by the Wrigley Estate. They are being caught on lindy rigged night crawlers or drop shot rigged 4 inch finesse worms. They have not schooled up yet as they have in recent years. A typical school this year is 7-10 fish so you need to move around to have great success.

Yellow perch are in the shallows in 12-15 feet of water. Look for the fish by Knollwood or by Belvidere Park in Fontana. They are aggressively feeding on small fat head minnows or leaf worms. You want to fish them on a split shot rig or a Thill slip bobber rig. The best locations have scattered weeds and hard sand bottom.

Largemouth bass fishing has been excellent in 18-24 feet of water. Look for the fish by Covenant Harbor Bible Camp or Gage Marine. They are being caught on football head jigs with a green pumpkin trailer or drop shotting green pumpkin finesse worms, my favorite are Chompers, red flake seems to be producing most of the fish. The key to finding them is finding locations with scattered weeds and a harder bottom.

Rock bass fishing has been excellent in the deeper waters. A lot of the fish have been in excess of 20 feet of water. They are being caught on lindy rigged night crawlers or fat head minnows. Look for the fish off of main lake points like Cedar Point or Conference Point.

Walleye fishing has been very good at night. Make sure you pick nights when there is wind. The best locations have been Trinkes Bay and Fontana Bay.

Bluegill fishing has been excellent in the 18- to 24-foot depth range. The best location has been by Elgin Club or by Gage Marine. Try a split shot rig with a leaf worm approximately six inches off bottom for the best success. The average size of the bluegills is over 8 inches.

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

Delavan Lake fishing report 8/17/15 through 8/23/15

The fishing on Delavan Lake continues to be a good day/bad day proposition. The weather has been pretty consistently hot and humid. The best bite on the lake remains the bluegills. They are constant throughout the lake.

Early in the week the largemouth bass were on the deep weed lines in 15-18 feet of water. Because of the consistent warm weather, the deep water bite has been getting slower and slower as the day progresses. The fish I'm catching have been on lindy rigged night crawlers or lindy rigged medium suckers. The shallow water slop bite has been consistent. The fish are located by the condos on north shore or the boat launch channel. They are being caught on black or white frogs. The best depth is 2-3 feet of water. The weed flats have also been producing in the early morning hours, Pop-R's and Chug Bugs are working in 8-10 feet of water. The best location has been by Willow Point or Browns Channel.

Walleye fishing has been spotty. Most of the fish are being caught on split shot rigged leeches or lindy rigged leeches. The best depth has been 18-25 feet off the main lake points. Look for the fish just west of the Delavan Yacht Club or by Willow Point. The best time to fish them is when there is a heavy breeze blowing onto the shore.

Bluegill fishing has been excellent in the 15- to 18-foot depth range. There have been many limits of bigger bluegills caught. You want to fish split shot rigged leaf worms straight beneath the boat. The best locations have been by Assembly Park or just west of Willow Point. Once you find an active school, it doesn't take long to catch your daily limit of 25. The average size of the fish is 7-8 inches.

Northern pike fishing has been spotty. I've been catching one or two per trip. They are in 22-24 feet of water. They have been biting on large suckers fished on a lindy rig with a 24-inch leader. The best location has been by the gray condos or by the Village Supper Club. They have been easy to locate but hard to entice the bite.

Crappie fishing has been good when you find active schools. They are off the weed line in 15-20 feet of water. The best locations have been by Belvidere Park or the concrete point. You want to fish for them with a 1/32-oz. jig and purple or chartreuse twister tail. The fish have been suspended 10-12 feet off bottom.

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