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Fishing picking up on Delavan Lake

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Geneva Lake, May 15-22, 2011

Though we had some warm weather last week, Lake Geneva is a huge body of water. Fishing hasn't been very consistent and it will likely take a consistent warm up in our weather to warm up the lake. The best bites remain in the shallow harbors and bays.

Smallmouth bass are sporadically being caught on the breaks near the spawning flats, such as the Elgin Club and the old Military Academy and Maytag Point. Most of the fish are being caught on hair jigs or on crayfish imitating plastics. The best depth has been 8-12 ft of water.

Largemouth bass are being caught in Abbey harbor. Senkos or small 4 inch worms in green pumpkin or root beer color are producing most of the action. The Abbey does have the warmest water in the lake and is usually the best bite until the rest of the lake catches up. Some good catches have also been reported on a split shot rigged nightcrawler.

Bluegills are being caught in Geneva Bay by the Library beach or by the beach in Williams Bay. The best presentation is a leaf worm on an ice jig in 4-6 ft of water. The fish a pretty sporadic so you need to move around to find some active fish. The average size of the fish are nice eaters, 8-9 inches.

Northern Pike are still relating to the emerging weeds. The best bets are the weed flats throughout the lake. Look for the fish in Williams Bay and the Fontana Beach area. The best approach is slip bobbering large golden shiners about 2 ft above the weeds. The only way to fish a lot of poles is to anchor your boat. This presentation is a lot like tip up fishing so you have to be patient for the bite.

Rock bass are starting to move into the shallow waters with the warmer weather. They are in 10-12 ft of water. With the overall water temp still cool, the best bait is fat head minnows fished on a split shot rig. I do a lot of drifting or without wind, back trolling with the electric motor.

Delavan Lake, May 15-22, 2011

What a difference a week makes. With a little warm weather at the beginning of the week the fish became very active and fishing was outstanding. But by the end of the week, the strong winds and cold temps slowed things right back down. With some stable weather, fishing should be great.

Walleye Pike can be caught on shallow diving crank baits in 6-8 ft of water. The best time to catch the fish is in the night time hours. This is due to the clarity of the water, which is currently ultra clear. You want to cast chrome/blue or chrome/black husky jerks or Smithwick rogues.

Largemouth bass are preparing to spawn with the warming waters. As of Friday, May 13th I saw many fish in the shallows making beds. The best time to fish is when there is very little wind and stable warm temperatures. Most of the fish I've been catching are on All Terrain Sticks. Green Pumpkin or Root beer red flake are the best colors, fish them on a 3/0 worm hook. Lakeside, the new bait shop across from the launch, now carries All Terrain Stiks. The best location is anywhere there is sand bottom and scattered weeds, spots like the outlet and Viewcrest channel have been producing the best.

Crappie fishing has been very good. Crappies like the bass, are preparing to spawn. They are in 6-8 ft of water. The best locations have been by Willow Point and by Browns Channel. The best presentation has been a small fat head minnow fished on a Thill slip bobber. The fish are suspended so I've been fishing 4-5 ft down beneath the bobber.

Northern Pike fishing has been good in the shallow weedy bays. The best locations have been by Browns Channel, Viewcrest Bay and the Highlands Bay. I've been anchoring in 8-10 ft of water and slip bobber fishing large golden shiners. It's been pretty good action when you find active fish. Another approach is casting white or chartreuse spinner baits. I've seen a lot of fish caught in the boat launch channel and by Lake Lawn Lodge.

Bluegills are still loaded into the lakes channels and shallow water. One of the things that is going on now is that the weed growth is starting to push them deeper. The best action is in 3-4 ft of water. I've been using leaf worms fished on a small ice jig underneath a Thill spring bobber.

With stable weather, fishing should continue to improve.

Daily reports

5/15/11 - Delavan Lake, 45 degrees, windy, windy, windy with some rain. Water temp 59 degrees. When people don't think the weather can get worse, it sure can. We struggled to catch 6 largemouth. All were caught on Senkos. We did fish for a few bluegills in the channels to get away from the wind. We kept about 20 nice 8 inch gills.

5/14/11 - Delavan Lake, 49 degrees, windy, cloudy, rainy, water temp 60 degrees. Caught 6 largemouth and some crappies. The weather was atrocious. The bass were caught on green pumpkin and root beer red flake Senkos. The bass were in 2-3 ft of water. The best location was by the outlet dam. The crappies were caught on small fat head minnows by Willow Point in 7-8 ft of water. The north wind was a huge factor.

5/10/11 - Rock River (Newville), 85 degrees and sunny, light winds, water temp 60 degrees. Caught 1 - 15" sauger, 3 walleyes, all around 16 inches, 2 northern pike and 1 white bass. Fished the mouth of the river with a 3/8 oz orange and chartreuse odd ball jigs. The best depth was 5-6 ft. Fished 1/2 nightcrawlers. The key was to have a stinger hook in the end of the nightcrawlers. It was a beautiful evening on the 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.