Lake Geneva 5/18/2020 through 5/25/2020
Fishing still remains difficult. The water temperature has only risen a few degrees this week. With the strong winds later in the week, the water was stirred up a bit. Most of the action is very shallow around the boat docks.
Largemouth bass have been caught while they have been cruising the shallow waters (3-4 ft.) The best bait has been spider grubs or nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig. Some of the best success has come from the Abbey Harbor. The best location is around the outwash from the outboard motors of the docked boats. A lot of fish have been in the 2-3 pound range. The largemouth bass on the main lake are more difficult to locate, some of the best luck has been around the docks in Williams Bay and by Knollwood.
Smallmouth bass are still in a pre-spawn pattern. They have been more sporadic last week. During my trips on the lake, I didn’t notice any surfacing fish. Several others had luck casting to schooling fish with small stick baits like a Yozuri minnow bait. The bites were not aggressive at all they merely hung onto the bait for a second and you had to set the hook hard. Within the next week the fish should be starting to move closer to the spawning flats. I would look for them next week in 12-15 ft. of water. They are still following the shiners so when you find the bait fish you should find the bass.
Perch are being caught on the main lake points in 6-7 ft. of water. Small leaf worms and shiners are producing all the fish. The best locations are by Coleman’s Point, Black Point and Rainbow Point. Some of the fish are reaching 12 inches in length. Fishing a slip bobber seems the easiest approach.
Northern Pike are still cruising the shallow water in 5-8 ft of water. They can be caught on white spinner baits or husky jerk baits. Emerging weeds seem to be holding most of the fish.
Some small Bluegills can be caught around the boat dock in Geneva Bay. The best bait is leaf worms fished on a slip bobber. Within the next few weeks, the bluegills will be in very thick as they begin to spawn.
Hopefully with some warm stable weather, fishing will become more consistent on Geneva. Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063.