• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

With warmer weather, Geneva Lake fishing is improving

Note: Join the WalworthCountyToday.com "Fishing Walworth County" Facebook page HERE.

Share

Geneva Lake, May 22 to 29

Lake Geneva fishing is finally starting to improve with the warmer weather that we've had. The fish are starting to move closer to the spawning areas.

Smallmouth bass are suspended in 15 ft of water. They are actively chasing pods of bait fish. They can be caught on small minnow type lures or casting hair jigs. The fish are anywhere from 5-10 ft off bottom. The best locations are Maytag Point, Elgin Club and Belvidere Park. With warmer weather, the smallmouth bass should be spawning in about one week.

Bluegill fishing has been all right. They are in the shallows in 3-5 ft of water. This time of year, the panfish are accessible to shore anglers. People in Williams Bay and Geneva Bay are having success off of the Municipal piers. Most fish are being caught on slip bobbered leaf worms.

Rock Bass are starting to become active. They can be caught on fat head minnows or 1/2 nightcrawlers. The best success is coming out of 10-12 ft of water. The best presentation is a split shot and a single hook. Look for the fish by the Military Academy or on the west side of Black Point.

Walleye fishing has been very slow. I've not heard of any success so far this year. The water needs to warm up a few degrees to make them active. Like always, the night bite is the only way to go. Trolling crank baits will work after the warm up.

Largemouth bass are biting in 3-5 ft of water. The best location is Geneva Bay and Abbey Harbor. They can be caught on a split shot rigged nightcrawler or on a Senko type lure. Green pumpkin is the best color. The largemouth spawn is about 2-3 weeks away.

Northern Pike remain in the shallow weed flats. They can be caught slip bobber fishing large golden shiners. The best success has been coming in Fontana Beach or in Williams Bay off of the beach. The best depth is 12-14 ft of water. Position the bait 2-3 ft off the tops of the weeds. The northern pike will come up and grab them.

Delavan Lake, May 22 to 29

Fishing on Delavan Lake continues to be excellent. The best bite on the lake has been the Largemouth bass which are now spawning. Northern Pike are also a great bite and are active in the weed flats.

Northern Pike are being caught on medium suckers and large golden shiners. The best depth is 9-12 ft. Look for then in the weed flats such as the Highland Bay, Viewcrest Bay and by Browns Channel. I did experiment trying locations that I don't normally check and caught fish. I found the depth range is the most critical element for success. I positioned the bait 2-3 ft off bottom.

Largemouth bass are shallow. You can find the fish in 3-4 ft of water in the shallow bays. Look for the fish in Viewcrest Bay, Highlands Bay and the golf course to the outlet. The best success is either coming on Senko type lures or a split shot rigged nightcrawler. I will normally fish my Senkos Texas rigged but some success has also come from Wacky rigging the Senkos in the middle.

Crappies have been scattered. They are in 3-4 ft of water and as deep as 12 ft of water. They are still full of eggs and should be spawning this week. I've been catching them on small purple plastics or slip bobbering small fat head minnows. The biggest concentration has been in Viewcrest Bay. In the coming weeks, this bite should improve as they finish spawning in pull out of the shallows.

Bluegill fishing has been average. There are quite a few fish shallow however they are very easily spooked due to the clear water. The best bites still remain in the channels, but with the warmer weather the weed growth has exploded making some areas now un-fishable.

Walleye fishing has been a bit slow. The only good action has been at night trolling shallow diving crank baits on the edge of the weedlines. Look for the fish by Browns Channel or by the Yacht Club. The best bait is a 200 series Bandit Lure in white pearl.

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

Daily reports

5/22/11 - Delavan Lake, 80 degrees, sunny, water temp 60 degrees, W wind at 20 mph. Caught 12 largemouth, 2 northern pike and 12 crappies and bluegills. Fishing was good, except for the desired species of crappie. Most of the game fish were caught in the first 1 1/2 hours of the trip. We spent 3 hours trying to find the crappies with little success. The normal haunts were closed due to high winds.

5/21/11 - Delavan Lake, 55 degrees, cloudy, water temp 60 degrees. Caught 21 largemouth, 2 northern pike and 7 crappies. The bass were caught by Lake Lawn in 3-4 ft of water. They were caught on Senkos and nightcrawlers. The pike were caught on slip bobbers in 10-11 ft of water. Crappies were caught on small plastics.

5/19/11- Delavan Lake, sunny 75 degrees, winds NE at 4 mph. Water temp 60 degrees. Caught 11 Northern Pike and 11 Largemouth bass. The Northern Pike were caught on golden shiners fished on a Thill slip bobber in 10-11 ft of water. The best location was by Browns Channel. The bass were caught by Lake Lawn in 3-4 ft of water. They bit on nightcrawlers.

5/17/11 - Lake Koshganong, 65 degrees, winds E at 15 mph. Water temp 58 degrees. Caught 3 walleyes and 3 white bass. Trolled Lindy Shadlings at the mouth of the Rock River by Newville. We were fishing 5 ft of water. We had the crank baits set 25 ft back behind the planer boards.

5/16/11 - Delavan Lake, 38 degrees, winds E at 15-20 mph, water temp 55 degrees. Caught 6 largemouth bass - 2 legal, and several crappies and bluegills. Fishing was slow due to the cold front. Fished 3-4 ft of water. Used nightcrawlers on a split shot rig.

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.