On the Lakes: Season producing mixed bag of results

Dave Duwe | September 5, 2017

Delavan Lake fishing report 9/3/17 through 9/11/17:

Fishing on Delavan Lake remains decent. It's not as good as a few weeks ago, but that's to be expected with the cool temps and unstable weather. As the lake continues to cool, the fish will transition from summer to fall patterns.

Crappie fishing has been pretty good. The fish are in the weeds in 13-14 feet of water. The best location has been by Del Mar subdivision and by Browns Channel. Purple plastic fished on a 1/32-oz. jig head have been producing all of the fish I've been catching. The best plastics I've used have been the Mini Mites.

Walleye fishing is improving by the day. As the water cools, walleye action just keeps getting better. Currently I'm catching them on lindy rigged night crawlers. I've tried jigging but without much success. The jig pattern will turn on within the next couple of weeks so keep trying. The walleye bite seems to be best the first hour of light and again at dusk. The best locations have been by Willow Point and by 3 Flags. The best depth is about 18-20 feet of water.

Largemouth bass fishing has been a bit spotty. Some days are better than others, but fish can be caught each day. The large summer numbers of fish have subsided, I'm averaging 12-15 fish each trip out. The best depth is 15-16 feet of water. I'm either drop shotting finesse worms or using night crawlers fished on a split shot rig. The best locations have been by the Yacht Club point and 3 Flags.

Bluegills have been very spotty. I'm getting a couple here and there but not finding the large schools of fish.The best action seems to be by Assembly Park. Work a depth of 14-17 feet of water for the most action. Try for them with leaf worms 6 inches to 1 foot off bottom. As the water stabilizes, the bite should improve.

Northern pike fishing has been absolutely horrible. I'm catching one here and there but there hasn't been a real pattern all summer. This has been the slowest northern bite that I've seen on Delavan in years. I've been dragging medium suckers while fishing for bass. I'm getting one fish every other trip or so.

Smallmouth are starting to show up. I'm getting them intermixed with the walleyes in 18-20 feet of water. Lindy rigged night crawlers are producing most of the action. Three flags and scattered rocky points are producing most of the success.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.

Geneva Lake fishing report 9/3/17 through 9/11/17:

The cool August days have now turned into cool September days. Fishing on Geneva Lake has been a bit more challenging than normal. Some days the fishing patterns are easily identified but with any weather or wind change the bite shuts down.

Largemouth bass are in substantially more shallow water than is typical for this time of year. The best depth has been 8-10 feet of water. The best locations are by Geneva Bay, South Shore Club and Colemans Point. Most of the success I've been having is coming off of 4-inch finesse worms made by Chompers. I've been drop shotting them and positioning the sinker about 18 inches below the hook. They can be caught on night crawlers as well but the rock bass and bluegills tend to take the bait before you hook up with the bass.

Bluegill fishing remains steady in 18-20 feet of water. The best location has been by Gage Marine, Elgin Club and Lake Geneva Yacht Club. I've been using a split shot hook and leaf worm combo fished about 1 foot off bottom. As the water continues to cool, the bluegills will migrate shallow.

The smallmouth bass bite has been like a mythical creature. I haven't seen one in three to four trips out. I believe they are in deeper water than I've been fishing. I've been marking them in 20-25 feet of water but when I try for them with a lindy rigged night crawler I've had very limited success.

Walleye fishing has been excellent on the nights when there is some wind. Trolling large Rapalas in the 12- to 15-foot depth range have been working well. Abbey Springs and Maytag Point are both great locations.

With the cooling water temperatures, the rock bass are again moving into the shallow waters. They can be caught on split shot rigged night crawlers throughout the lake. The biggest concentration has been by South Shore Club.

Like the smallmouth bass I haven't had much success with northern pike either. I've fished in Williams Bay and Fontana Beach without success. As the water cools the thermocline will break and they will move shallow. I suspect that will happen within the next week. At that point try for them with slip bobbers and golden shiners in the shallow weed flats.

Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.