• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Get ready for a busy Labor Day weekend on the lakes

Geneva Lake, Aug. 29-Sept. 5, 2010

It's the calm before the storm. Labor Day weekend is just about here so be prepared for a great deal of boat traffic on the lake. It will be much busier than it has been lately.

Smallmouth bass are starting to come off their sporadic summer pattern and starting to position themselves on the break lines in 15-20 ft. of water. The best presentation I have found is Carolina Rigging, watermelon or root beer colored Arkie crawling grubs or split shotting live night crawlers. Most of the fish being caught are by Coleman's Point or by Linn Pier. As the water cools the small mouth bass will move shallower and concentrate on the main lake points, like Conference Point, Black Point and Rainbow Point.

Largemouth bass fishing has been all right. Most of the bass are being caught in 12-13 ft. of water. The best bait is night crawlers fished on the split shot rig. A secondary pattern was the split shot rig with 5 inch zoom lizards, green pumkin/chartreuse seemed to produce the most. Many of the fish being caught were on the Geneva Bay break line or by Coleman's Point.

Northern Pike fishing has been average. The fish are still deep but are starting to move shallow. Most of the northerns being caught this past week have been in 35-40 ft. of water. They are not as concentrated as they were in mid-August. Six inch chubs seem to be the best approach when fished on a lindy rig. Chubs will out fish the suckers about 5 to 1 right now. The best locations have been Cedar Point, the Narrows and Covenant Harbor point.

Walleye fishing has been slowing due to the cooler weather in the evenings. Some are still being caught at night in about 13 ft. of water. They are still associating with the weed flats. Crank baits or crawler harnesses remain the best approach. Look for them in Fontana Beach or Trinkes. Remember wind is still the key to success.

Panfish continue to be a constant bite. The key to catching them is a live night crawler fished on the split shot rig. The depth has been 10-13 ft. of water for the most action. I've caught good fish pretty much in every spot I've been fishing for bass.

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

Delavan Lake, Aug. 29-Sept. 5, 2010

Fishing remains very consistent. Both pan fish and game fish continue to bite well. Last week, we had the benefit of a full moon that superseded the cold front. Overall fishing has been the best I've seen it this time of year in the past 5 years.

Largemouth bass are still on the rocky points. When you find a school, it's possible to catch 15-20 fish. They can either be caught drop shotting small 4 inch worms or fishing nightcrawlers on a split shot rig. Look for the fish in 15-20 ft of water. The best location is by Del Mar or by the Yacht Club.

Northern Pike fishing has been very slow. I've been dragging suckers around all week and didn't catch one fish. I still believe that the bluegills are so thick on the weedlines that the pike simply aren't hungry for anything else. I've tried both lindy rigs and slip bobbers without success.

Bluegills for most of the week have been just outside the weed edge in 15-20 ft. However, on Sunday 8/29/10 they were very difficult to catch. I don't know if it was the time of day or if the fish have moved. I was fishing anywhere between 14 and 27 ft without much success. Leaf worms or red worms have been producing and the best approach has been fishing straight beneath the boat or using slip bobbers. Try for them 1 ft above the weeds.

Crappies continue to be very active. They are on the weedline in 14-16 ft of water. They can be caught on small plastics. Chartreuse or purple have been producing most of the action. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or Willow Point. For live bait fishermen, if you find a nice school, a small fathead minnow fished on a Thill bobber will produce a lot of action as well.

Walleye fishing has been kind of slow. I've been catching them here or there but not in any great numbers with any consistency. Most of the time, I've been fishing in 15-17 ft of water. I think that the walleyes are a little deeper in 22-24 ft of water on the outside of the weedline. The best approach to catch them is chrome and blue jigging Rapalas.

Daily reports

8/29/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 85 degrees, water temp 77 degrees, SW winds at 15 mph. Had a bluegill trip and had a difficult time locating the bigger fish. We ended up with 3 largemouth and about 20 keeper bluegills. The best depth was 15-17 ft of water. Fished 4-5 spots and the active bluegills were a bit elusive.

8/28/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 80 degrees, water temp 76 degrees, winds W at 10 mph. Caught 17 largemouth and a bunch of bluegills. The fish were caught on the weedline with a split shot nightcrawler rig. The best location was by the Yacht Club or Willow point.

8/25/10 - Delavan lake - sunny, 75 degrees, water temp 76 degrees, SW wind at 5 mph. Caught 15 largemouth - 4 were legal, 1 walleye and 30 bluegills. All the fish were either caught on nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig or on medium suckers. The best location was the Yacht Club or Oriental boat house. The best depth was 15 ft.

8/23/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 85 degrees, water temp 79 degrees, light winds out of the SW at 5 mph. Caught 23 Largemouth - 5 were legal, the biggest was 5 lbs 3 oz, also caught 30 bluegills. Most of the fish were caught on nightcrawlers on a split shot rig or medium suckers in 15 ft of water. The best location was by the yacht club or by the Oriental boat house.

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.