• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Best fishing in the county on Delavan Lake

Geneva Lake, July 18-25, 2010

Lake Geneva boat traffic has been pretty mellow due to the tremendous fishing on Delavan right now. You can get to the boat launch by 6 a.m. and still get a parking spot.

(Send your fishing photos)

Lake Trout fishing has been good. They are being caught 1/2 hour before first light until 6:30 a.m. and again at dusk. They can be caught on nickel/silver or nickel/green spoons. Most of the fish are being caught between 75 and 80 ft of water in a total depth of 108-135 ft. With good electronics, you will be able to see the suspended fish and you will be able to adjust your down rigger presentation.

Smallmouth bass have moved off of the weedline. They are chasing the pods of minnows. They can be caught by the Elgin Club or by Linn Pier near pier 600. They are readily being caught while drop shotting live nightcrawlers or small 4 inch worms. With an active school of minnows, you can catch the fish while casting top waters or small pinfish. Chrome/blue and chrome/black are the best colors.

Largemouth bass are either being caught on top water or Carolina rigging. The best presentation for largemouth bass has been the Chug Bug or the Pop-r. The best location has been by Trinkes or Williams Bay. You want to work a depth of 8-10 water. For Carolina rigging, you want to concentrate on the deep weedline. Look for the fish in Trinkes Bay, the narrows or Knollwood. Look for the deep weeds with hard bottom. You either want to use a Arkie root beer Crawlin' Grub or a green pumpkin 6 inch lizard.

Bluegills are in the 16-20 ft depth range. The best location is by Elgin Club. They are being caught on either leaf worms or nightcrawler pieces straight beneath the boat. Due to the depth, you have to pick a day that is not too windy. Some of the bluegills are in excess of 9 inches.

Walleye Pike are biting at night on the nights where the wind is blowing. If the wind isn't blowing, fishing has been very slow. The weed flats have still been the key. You want to use large Rapalas or the Walleye Bandits. Chrome/blue and chrome/black have been my favorite colors. Look for the fish by Abbey Springs or by Fontana Beach.

Rock bass can be caught in the 10-12 ft depth range. They can be readily caught on nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig. My best success has come by Linn Pier or by Elgin Club. They have been getting very soft, so if you want to keep them make sure you get them on ice.

Delavan Lake, July 18-25, 2010

Fishing remains very good on Delavan Lake. Even the hot weather hasn't hurt the productivity or the size of the fish. The only factor continues to be the excessive boat traffic. Last Tuesday, there were more boats on the water than there were Fourth of July weekend.

Bluegills remain on the deep weedline in 15-18 ft of water. They can be caught on leaf worms and nightcrawler pieces. Look for the fish by Assembly park point, Willow Point or by the Village Supper Club. They are still schooling by size so you continue to need to move if you are into the small fish.

Largemouth bass are located on the deep weedline with weeds and hard rock. Good locations have been by the Oriental boathouse, Browns Channel or the island. They can be drop shotted or split shot rigged with nightcrawlers or 4 inch finesse worms. Green pumpkin is the best color for the finesse worms. Most of my trips last week, were in excess of 15 bass for a 4 hour trip. Some bass are also being caught off of the north shore boat docks.

Northern Pike have been sporadic. If you find a school, you will catch a bunch. It hasn't been as good as the last two weeks. Again, the right size suckers has been the key, 6-7 inches has been the best size. Any bigger and the smaller fish will take them and run but will ultimately kill the bait. The best location has been by the Slow No Wake buoy, just west of Willow point or by Browns Channel. You need to keep moving as the legal fish can be had. I caught several last week over 32 inches.

Walleye fishing has been slower this week. The fish are still in the 20-24 ft depth range. They can be caught near the Yacht Club or by Browns Channel. The best approach has been lindy rigging leeches or nightcrawlers. As a rule, the first light and dusk have been producing most of the fish. Once you get on an active school, you can catch several of them so don't move too soon.

Perch are starting to show up in the shallower weeds in 12-14 ft of water. Already in July, I have caught 5 times as many as I caught all of last year. Most of them are small, however I did catch some in excess of 12 inches last week. The best bait has been hellgrammites. You want to fish them on a single hook or a Thill slip bobber rig. Most of my action has been coming in front of the old Boy Scout camp which is on the west end.

Daily Reports 7/18/10 - Lake Geneva - sunny, 90 degrees and humid, water temp 81 degrees. W winds at 10-15 mph. I will be fishing tomorrow top water for the first two hours of light and then switching to drop shotting nightcrawlers. I will be fishing by Trinkes and Linn Pier in 18-20 ft of water.

7/16/10 - Delavan Lake - p.m. - sunny, 90 degrees and humid, water temp 82 degrees, W winds at 25-30 mph. Fishing was tough due to the winds, fished by the Oriental boathouse and by Willow Point, ended up catching 9 largemouth - 3 were legal, 6 northern pike and about 20 bluegills. With the winds, I had to back troll with my 150 hp motor and that made things a bit difficult, there were also a ton of floating weeds right on the weedline in 18-20 ft.

7/15/10 - Delavan lake - sunny, 90 degrees, water temp 82 degrees, N winds at 15 mph. Caught 16 largemouth - 3 were legal, 6 northern pike and 20 bluegills. Fished the same program as previous days, Willow Point and the Oriental boathouse. The best depth seems to be 20-22 ft.

7/14/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 90 degrees, water temp 82 degrees, SW winds at 15 mph. Caught 1 smallmouth, 18 largemouth - 5 were legal, and 6 northern pike. Most of the fish were caught by the Oriental boathouse in 18-22 ft of water. Moved to Willow Point at the end of the trip and caught a lot of bluegills.

7/13/10 - p.m. - Delavan Lake - sunny, 90 degrees, water temp 81 degrees, SE winds at 10 mph. Caught 6 walleyes, 15 largemouth - 3 were legal, and 8 northern pike - 1 was legal. Caught most of the fish by Willow Point on nightcrawlers or lindy rigged suckers.

7/13/2010 - a.m. - Delavan Lake - sunny, 86 degrees, water temp 80 degrees, SE winds at 5 mph. Caught 23 largemouth - 8 were legal, 4 northern pike and 1 walleye. The fish were still on the deep weedline in 18-20 ft of water. The best location was by Belvidere Park or by Del Mar.

7/12/2010 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 85 degrees, water temp 79 degrees, SE wind at 5 mph. Caught 1 smallmouth - 19 1/2 inches, 12 largemouth bass - 8 were legal, and 11 pike - 2 were legal. The bass were caught on nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig in 18 ft of water right off the weed edge. The best location was by the Oriental boathouse or Willow Point. The Pike were caught on lindy rigged suckers.

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.