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The season's best fishing is during autumn

Geneva Lake, Sept. 26 to Oct. 3, 2010

Fishing has been very slow. The best bite on the lake continues to be the yellow perch however, some days you'll need to catch 100 to get 20 keepers. As fall continues, the fishing should improve on several species.

Northern Pike are off the deep weedlines in the shallow weeds. The best depth to catch them is 10-12 ft of water. You want to use golden shiners fished on a Thill slip bobber. The best location is Fontana beach or in Williams Bay. Anchoring the boat will allow you to fish as many poles as legal. As a rule, the fish have been on the small side, but fall is the best time of year for a trophy.

Yellow perch are in the shallows, in the scattered weeds with hard sand bottom. Look for the fish by Knollwood or Rainbow point. They can be caught on slip bobbered small fat head minnows or on leaf worms. You want to position the bait 1 ft off bottom in 10-12 ft of water. If you are not getting any bites, you need to move on to another location.

Smallmouth bass fishing has been slow. The water temperature hasn't been right. In the next couple of weeks, with the cooler water, the smallies will move shallow and position on the rocky points. The best locations will be places like Conference Point or Black Point. One of my favorite approaches is Carolina rigging 4 inch lizards in green pumpkin or root beer colors. Occasionally you will get into a school and possibly catch 15-20 ft in a short period of time.

Rock bass are always a consistent bite. They are in 10-12 ft of water. Look for the fish by the old Military Academy or by Elgin Club. They can be readily caught on nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig. Some of the rock bass that have been caught can exceed 1 lb.

Bluegill fishing has been rather slow. The best action is in and around the docks in 5-6 ft of water. They can be caught on split shot rigged leaf worms or on a bobber with a single hook. With the shallow bluegills, you will have to do some sorting to get the bigger fish. Look for the fish in Geneva Bay or around Williams Bay.

Delavan Lake, Sept. 26, to Oct. 3, 2010

Fall is officially upon us. The water temperature has been cooling daily. Over the next few weeks, some of the best fishing of the year can be had.

Northern Pike have moved off the deep weedline and are again in the shallow weedy bays. The best depth is 8-10 ft of water. They can be caught on 1/2 oz white spinner baits with Willow Leaf blades. Look for the fish in Highlands Bay and Viewcrest Bay. A few fish are also being caught on Thill slip bobber rigs with small suckers. I position the bait about 1 ft above the weeds.

Walleye fishing has been improving. The fish are in the main lake basin in 28-31 ft of water. They can be caught on nightcrawlers fished on a lindy rig or on a small fat head minnow. The best location has been by Willow Point or by the island on the west end. This is the time of year for a lot of legal fish.

Largemouth bass have slowed but they are still available. I've been moving shallower in the 5-6 ft depth range. I've been concentrating on scattered weeds with hard sand bottom. Good locations are the Oriental boat house and by Browns Channel. I've been fishing the old tried and true split shot with a single hook and nightcrawler.

Bluegill fishing has slowed. There are some fish in 31-35 ft of water, however, the last time out they were very hard to locate. They can be caught most of the time on leaf worms fished on split shot rig. I will use at least a 1/4 oz sinker.

The perch have been biting, the only problem is that the fish have been on the small side. Most of the fish I've been catching have been in the 6-7 inch range. Look for the fish by Lake Lawn Lodge. The best depth is 4-5 ft of water around scattered weeds and hard sand.

Daily reports

9/26/10 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 50 degrees, water temp 64 degrees, E winds at 10 mph. Caught 2 bluegills and 1 perch. Tried fishing bluegills in 30-35 ft of water, but couldn't find the fish. It was a nice day for a boat ride!

9/25/10 - Delavan Lake - cloudy and cool, 55 degrees, water temp 64 degrees, N winds at 20 mph. Caught 11 largemouth, the largest was 17 inches, 1 northern pike and 20 perch. The bass were caught on nightcrawlers in 5-6 ft of water. The wind made it difficult to control the boat. The perch were caught on bobbers in 3-4 ft of water.

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.