Delavan Lake 9/7/20 through 9/14/20
With the cooler nights and shorter days, Delavan Lake is starting to move towards the fall fishing patterns. Now after Labor Day, the pleasure boaters are limited however the lake is still seeing tremendous fishing pressure. Almost any day of the week there are trucks and trailers parking on the grass at the boat launch.
Perch fishing has by far the best it’s been all year. Almost anyone fishing them has been sorting through limits. The best depth is between 15 and 17 ft. of water. Fish for them in the weed flats in front of Lake Lawn and Township park. By far the best bait is the long green hellgrammite fished either slip bobbered or straight lined beneath the boat. A few fish are also being caught down on the west end by the island.
Crappie fishing is also improving. The fish are on the weed line in 12-15 ft. of water. Last week almost every fish I caught could have been a keeper. They were in the 91/2 to 10 inch range. The best bait has been small plastic cubby jigs fished on 4 lb. Test with a small slip shot about 16 inched above the jig. The split shot tends to make the bait sink a lot faster so you can have a lot steadier retrieve. Remember a slow retrieve with a lot of pauses produce most of the fish.
Walleye fishing has been good right at dusk and at dawn. The fish are still in 16-18 ft of water. The only time I’ve had any really good success has been in the low light conditions. Almost all of the fish have been caught on night crawlers. Leeches have been pretty hard to come by in the size that is desirable. I’ve been lindy rigging or using a small 1/32 oz jig casted down the break line. The best locations have been on the points on the south shore. In approximately 2-3 weeks I’ll be switching from live baits to crank baits.
Northern Pike fishing has slowed down with the cooling water. The fish are starting to pull back into the weeds where the water temp was too warm in mid summer. The best approach is either white spinner bait or a deep diving crank bait fished on the weed line in 12-15 ft. of water. I prefer either fire tiger or perch pattern. As the water cools, the northerns will pull even further into the weeds, so slowly move shallow as the weather continues to cool.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063