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If you don't mind the boat traffic, Delavan Lake fishing remains excellent

Delavan Lake, Aug. 22-29

Fishing remains exceptional. The only situation has been the boat traffic. Almost every day of the week there are between 100 and 200 boats out on the water. If you don't mind the traffic, there are many places to fish.

Bluegill fishing remains very good. Most of the bigger fish are between 21 and 25 ft of water. They can be caught on Thill slip bobbers with a small ice jig, such as the Genz worm or the Fat boy, fished 6 inches to 1 ft off bottom. Or they can be caught straight lining beneath the boat while back trolling with your electric trolling motor. The best location has been by Assembly Park or over by 3 flags. If you don't find big fish, you need to move. They are still schooling up in order of size. I've been using either red worms or wax worms with success on both.

Largemouth bass are still schooled up in their typical summer pattern. You need to find weeds with rock. If you do so, you will be catching at least 2 or 3 off of the spot. On several spots I've caught up to 15 fish. I've noticed in the last few weeks, the time of day has been critical. They don't seem to want to bite real early in the a.m., but will turn on by 6:30 or 7:00 a.m. So if you find a prime location, wait them out. Try them with a 1/8 oz lindy rig on a 24 inch leader and a #6 hook, or fish a split shot rig with a #3 split shot and a #6 hook. I will keep the boat in 25-30 ft of water and cast into the weeds in 16-18 ft of water.

Northern Pike has been one of the slowest bites on the lake. I still believe that with all the pan fish on the weedline, the fish have way too much to eat. Most of the success has come off of a Thill Mille Lacs slip bobber fished in 15 ft of water. I've been tipping the slip bobber rig with a 4-5 inch sucker. I've tried deeper water, however the bass and northern pike that I've been catching are right in the weeds. The best location has been Willow Point or the west end of the island.

Walleye fishing has been slow, however there are still fish being caught. The numbers are between 4 and 6 in a 4 hour trip if you target them. The fish are in 20-22 ft of water. Look for the fish off the weedline. The best approach has been lindy rigging leeches or using jigging Rapalas in chrome and blue color. The best location has been by Willow Point or by the Yacht Club.

Geneva Lake, Aug. 22-29

Fishing has been relatively slow. There have been a few pike and largemouth bass being caught. The boat traffic for fishermen has been relatively light since most of the traffic appears to be over on Delavan. This makes for some pleasant fishing on Geneva.

Northern Pike fishing has been rather spotty. One day you can catch them pretty good and the next day it's a challenge. The best location has been by Fontana beach or the weedline east of Abbey Springs. The best approach has been lindy rigging medium suckers in 32-35 ft of water. Good electronics are essential in finding the active fish that are just off bottom.

Smallmouth bass have been slowly moving out. They are still positioning on the outside edges of the bait fish. This time of year, I key on the deep rock in 22-25 ft of water. The best location has been by the Military Academy or off of black point. The best approach is lindy rigging nightcrawlers or yellow perch caught in Lake Geneva. You want to use a 24 inch leader, I use a #1 hook for the perch or a #6 bait holder for the nightcrawlers.

Bluegill fishing has been above average. They are in 18-24 ft of water. Look for the fish on the west side of Williams bay or by Elgin Club. The best approach is anchoring and fishing straight beneath the boat. I will use a single #12 Kahle hook and a #3 split shot tipped with a red worm.

Lake Trout fishing has been good in the main lake basin. Try fishing in the early morning hours, preferably about 5:30 until 7:00 a.m. This is the time of day when the fish are suspended off the bottom making them easier to catch. I will use chrome/blue or chrome/green spoons. Using your fish locator you can determine the depth where the fish are. Typically, I run my poles at 65, 75 and 85 ft down in 108 ft of water.

Largemouth bass are in the deep weeds in 20-30 ft of water. The key is finding weeds that have rock intermixed. The best location has been by the 700 Club or the weedline at Trinkes. The best approach is either Carolina rigging a green pumpkin lizard or dragging All Terrain jigs with a grub trailer. The key to largemouth bass fishing on Geneva is the deeper the better.

Daily Reports

8/22/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny and foggy, 80 degrees, winds N at 10 mph. Water temp 79 degrees. Caught 80 bluegills, kept 40 of them. They were in 20-21 ft of water. The fish were caught straight lining beneath the boat while using the trolling motor. The best location was by Willow Point. The fish were positioned 6 inches to 1 ft off bottom.

8/20/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 85 degrees, winds were out of the SW at 10 mph. Water temp 79 degrees. Caught 13 largemouth - 4 were legal and about 30 bluegill. I had two bites of northern pike on the suckers, but we were unable to land either of them. The best location was by Del Mar and by Willow Point.

8/17/10 - Delavan Lake - cloudy, 70 degrees, winds were light, water temp 77 degrees. Caught 21 largemouth - 3 were legal, 4 northern pike and 15 bluegill. Most of the fish were caught on nightcrawlers. The 4 pike and about 4 of the largemouth were caught on slip bobbered suckers in about 15 ft of water. The best location was by the Yacht

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.