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Fish preparing to move to deep water

Geneva Lake, June 27 to July 4

GENEVA LAKE -- Unlike last year, the summer weather patterns are a bit more normal. Most of the fish are coming out of their late spring, early summer pattern and are going to start to move to the deep water that Lake Geneva offers. I would have to say that most of the fish can still be caught in 12-15 ft of water for now. That will typically change after the 4th of July.

Northern Pike have been scattered throughout the weed flats. They can be caught on Rapala Husky Jerks or White spinner baits. The best depth is 8-12 ft of water. The best location is Williams Bay or Trinkes Bay. With the water temperature the way it is, they will slowly be moving out to the thermocline. It is likely that within the next week, you won't be catching any fish shallow, you'll need to look for them in 27-30 ft ofwater. Once on the thermocline, it is a good choice to use a lindy rigged 3/4 oz walking sinker and sucker. The best locations for this is by Black Point or in the narrows on the north shore.

Largemouth bass can still be had in the 10-18 ft depth range. With the warm weather, they have been sporadic throughout the water column. The rain has been determining the depth of the fish. Most of the fish have been caught drop shotting small plastics or live nightcrawlers. Look for the fish by Linn Pier or in Trinkes Bay. There hasn't been a day where you can't catch at least 10-12 fish in the last few weeks.

Smallmouth bass have moved deeper due to the warmer weather. Most of the fish are in 18-20 ft of water. The best presentation is drop shotting or Carolina rigging either small plastics or live nightcrawlers. Look for the fish by Black Point or by the Military Academy.

Rock bass continue to be everywhere. They will readily bite a split shot rigged nightcrawler. The best locations that I've found are by Belvidere Park or by Coleman's point. The best depth has been 10-12 ft of water.

Walleyes are biting at night. The best time to try for them is midnight until 3 a.m. You want to troll the weed flats from 12-15 ft of water. Most people are trolling Rapalas or Walleye Bandits. Chrome and Blue or Chrome and Black have been consistently producing. Look for the fish in Trinkes or Geneva Bay.

Delavan Lake, June 27 to July 4

DELAVAN LAKE -- The past week has been one thunderstorm after another, but if you could avoid the heavy rain and lightening, the fish were very active. As a rule, I noticed most of the fish have remained shallow. The only thing that could explain this is likely the rain. The rain must be cooling the water temperature enough to keep the fish shallow. Typically, most of the fish should be on the deep weedline, however I'm catching most of my Largemouth bass in 8-9 ft of water.

Northern Pike this past week has been simply outstanding. You have been able to catch as many pike as you have lively suckers for. The best presentation has been either lindy rigging medium suckers or using Thill slip bobbers for the suspended fish. Last week, a lot of fish were over the 35 and close to 40 inch range. The best location was by Belvidere Park down to Browns Channel. The key is to keep moving and try to find the active fish. With the bite is good as it is, it isn't hard to catch 20-25 pike in a 4 hour stretch.

Largemouth bass are still on two different patterns. The biggest fish are on the deep weedline in 15-18 ft of water. However, most of the fish are in the 8-9 ft depth range. The water temperature in the shallows is conducive to the Chug bug bite. Chrome and Blue is the best color. I have also been Wacky rigging green pumpkin All Terrain Stiks or fishing live nightcrawlers. The key to the presentation is finding locations on the south shore that have scattered weeds with a sand bottom. Most of the locations have far too many slimy weeds to fish effectively, so you need to search out the ideal spots. For the deep weedline fish, I have been lindy rigging or split shot rigging live nightcrawlers in 15-18 ft of water. In past years, the bass would have been schooled by now so you could fish in just a few spots. I've been moving around a lot and picking up fish here and there.

Bluegill fishing has been great on the weedline in 12-15 ft of water. The best location has been by the Yacht Club, the island and by Willow Point. I've been split shot rigging leaf worms while back trolling against the wind. Most of the fish have been coming off of the initial fall of the leaf worm. Some days are harder to catch the fish over 8 inches, but if you keep moving you will catch them.

Walleyes have been biting on nightcrawlers and leeches. The best presentation has either been on the split shot rig or fishing a lindy rig in 15-18 ft of water. The best location has been from the Yacht Club west towards Willow Point. There hasn't been a very large concentration in any one spot, so I have been back trolling to find the aggressive fish.

Crappie fishing has been rather slow. Most of the fish have moved out on the deep weedline and have suspended. Due to the aggressive nature of the other species, I haven't been fishing them too much. Most of my clients haven't wanted to keep crappies this late into summer since the meat gets soft. The crappies that are being caught have been caught on plastics. Purple or Chartreuse have been the best colors especially when fishing on a 1/32 oz Arkie Jig.

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.