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Perch are your best bet on Geneva

Geneva Lake, Oct. 3 to Oct. 10, 2010

As has been the case most of the year, fishing remains tough on Lake Geneva but with some perseverance, you should be able to catch some fish.

Yellow Perch is the best bite on the lake, they can be caught in 10-12 ft of water. They are being caught on nightcrawler pieces or small fat head minnows. The best approach has been fishing them on Thill slip bobbers and a single hook. Look for the fish by Rainbow Point or drifting from Chapin Rd to Knollwood.

Walleyes are being caught at night while trolling crank baits on the weed flats. The best location has been by Abbey Springs or in Trinkes. Troll the crankbaits half way down in 14-16 ft. of water. Trolling crankbaits has a secondary benefit in that the potential exists to catch the occasional northern pike as well.

Rock bass fishing has been good. The fish are in 10-12 ft of water. Like the perch, they can be caught on nightcrawler pieces or small fat head minnows. The best approach is a split shot rig which is a round split shot and single hook. The best location has been by the old Military Academy.

Northern Pike have moved into the shallow bays. The best location is in Fontana or Williams Bay. They can be caught on Thill slip bobbers fished with golden shiners in 12-14 ft of water. The basic approach is anchoring and waiting for them to move in.

Largemouth bass fishing has been spotty. The fish that are being caught are in 14-16 ft of water. Most of the success is coming off of root beer colored swim jigs with a plastic trailer. Look for the fish by Linn Pier or the Geneva Inn. With the cooling water, they will move even shallower in the next few weeks.

Delavan Lake, Oct. 3 to Oct. 10, 2010

It has been a typical fall so far. Cool nights and strong winds during the day. It's making it difficult to get out on the water. There is still some good fishing to be had so don't give up yet.

Walleyes are starting to show up on the weedlines in 16-18 ft of water. There is also a secondary bite in 28-30 ft of water. The weedline fish can be caught while casting crank baits. The best color is either a perch pattern or pearl. Look for the fish by the main lake points, such as, Willow Point, the Yacht Club and the Village Supper Club. The best action has been in low light conditions. For the deep water fish, I've been using Lindy rigs with medium fat heads and nightcrawlers. The fish are outside the weedline on the mud bottom.

Nothern Pike have moved into the shallows. They are in 8-10 ft of water. The best success has come off of white spinner baits. I have also been catching some on medium suckers fished on a Thill slip float. Look for the fish by Assembly Park or the west end weed flats.

Perch have been biting in 10-12 ft of water. They are being caught on nightcrawlers pieces or small fat head minnows. The best location is by the old Boy Scout Camp or by the outlet. There is quite a few smaller fish, so you will need to do some sorting.

Largemouth bass have moved shallow. The typical fall pattern has been happening. You don't need to leave the bank to catch the fish. They are in 4-5 ft of water. You want to find pockets in the thick weeds. Green pumpkin Senkos or black/blue All Terrain jigs have been producing most of my fish.

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

Daily reports

10/3/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 50 degrees, water temp 61 degrees, N winds at 10-15 mph. Caught 3 walleyes, 1 legal, and 4 northerns and 4 largemouth bass -1 was legal. The walleyes were caught while casting crankbaits along the weedline. The pike were caught on medium suckers and the bass were caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers in 4-5 ft of water on the north shore.

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.