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Walleye fishing heating up on Delavan Lake

Geneva Lake, Oct. 10--17, 2010

With the warm October weather, this is the warmest I've seen the water temperature for this time of year. Because of this, the fish are not in their normal fall patterns. With the cooling water temperatures, most of the fish will be going shallow and associating with the hard bottom rocks of the lake. Look for the fish on the main lake points, places like Black Point, Conference Point and Cedar Point.

Presently the best bite on the lake is yellow perch. They remain in 8-10 ft of water. Look for the fish from Chapin Road to Knollwood or by Rainbow Point. It has been no problem to catch over 100 fish in a few hours. The best method has been fishing Thill slip bobbers with a small hook and either a fat head minnow or a leaf worm.

Largemouth bass fishing has been tough. Most of the success is coming in 12-14 ft of water. Swimming 1/2 oz jigs with Arkie crawlin grubs has been producing quite a few fish. The best color is green pumpkin or root beer. Look for the fish by Linn Pier, Geneva Inn or by Trinkes.

Smallmouth bass fishing has been spotty. They have not yet schooled up. The only fish that are being caught have been when you find a pod of bait fish and the fish are actively feeding on them. My best location has been by the old Military Academy or the Yacht Club.

Northern Pike fishing has been a bit slow as well. The warm weather has affected their normal patterns. They still remain in the shallow weeds, in 8-10 ft of water. They can be caught on slip bobbered golden shiners or white spinner baits.

Rock bass fishing remains one of the best bites on the lake. They can be caught on nightcrawlers or fat head minnows. The best depth is 10-12 ft of water. The method is nothing fancy, just a split shot rig with a small hook and a 3/0 split shot.

Delavan Lake, Oct. 10--17, 2010

We've had a great early October this year with temperatures in the 70's and 80's. It's a bit unusual for this time of year but we won't complain. The great weather has kept the boat traffic on the lake up so there is still an awful lot of pressure on the fish. Even if the bite isn't great, who can complain about being out in weather like this.

Walleyes are starting to show up in both numbers and size. They can be caught right on the weedline in 16-18 ft of water or off the weed edge in 23-25 ft of water. The fish that are off the weedline are suspending 2-3 ft off bottom. Trolling deep diving crank baits or bottom bouncers has been producing some nice fish. For the weedline fish, I've been fishing nightcrawlers on a lindy rig. The best location has been by Browns Channel or by Belvidere Park.

Largemouth bass fishing has been good in the 5-6 ft depth range. The boat docks seem to be holding most of the fish. They can be caught either casting black and blue jigs or green pumpkin All Terrain Stiks. Look for the fish around the north shore boat docks. I typically try from the Yacht Club to Willow Point.

Northern Pike fishing has been kind of slow. Some success has come off of lindy rigging suckers or casting white and red spinner baits. I prefer using BooYah Spinner Baits in 1/2 oz size. The sucker bite remains in 16-18 ft of water, while the spinner bait bite is in shallow weeds in 8-10 ft of water. Look for the fish down on the west end in Viewcrest or Highlands Bay or by Willow Point.

Perch fishing has been good in the 8-10 ft depth range. The best location has been by Township park or by the old Boy Scout camp. The best presentation is using Thill slip bobbers and small fat head minnows or nightcrawler pieces.

Bluegill fishing has been almost non-existent for me. I have not caught any in the last 3 fishing trips. I think the fish have moved into the 5-6 ft depth range, where I have not been fishing. If they are in the shallows, bobbers with a small ice jig or leaf worms will produce most of the action.

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

Daily Reports 10/10/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 70 degrees, water temp 61 degrees, winds were calm. Caught 1 walleye, 1 smallmouth bass and 1 crappie. Tried to duplicate yesterdays success to no avail. The fish didn't seem to want to bite. We did have some hits on crankbaits that didn't stay buttoned, other than that it was a slow 3 hours on the water.

10/9/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 70 degrees, water temp 61 degrees, calm winds. Caught 8 walleyes, 3 largemouth -one at 19 inches, and 3 smallmouth. Most of the success came off of medium diving crank baits. Lindy Shadling produced the most in red tailed chub pattern. Tried fishing suckers in 16-20 ft of water and had 3 bites, one was a northern, one was a largemouth and one appeared to be a walleye bite but none were landed. Did catch a couple fish on split shot rigged nightcrawlers at the end of the trip around 10 a.m.

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.