Lake Geneva 8/19/19 through 8/29/19
Fishing on Lake Geneva continues to be excellent. I have not seen fishing this good in recent years. I am consistently getting double digit catches of both smallmouth and largemouth bass. The only species that is slower than normal for this time of year is the northern pike, and I’m not sure why.
Smallmouth bass are actively feeding in 21-28 ft of water off the main lake points. Look for hard bottom and scattered weeds. They are aggressively hitting nightcrawlers and small yellow perch caught in Lake Geneva. Some of the fish I caught were in excess of 20 inches. For fishing the yellow perch, I use a Abu Garcia 6500 with a clicker reel and a lindy rig with a ¾ oz walking sinker and a 1/0 hook. I want to position the bait approximately 2 ft off bottom for the best success. Look for the fish by Gage Marine and by Yerkes Observatory.
Largemouth bass fishing has been very good at Trinkes and in Williams Bay. The best location has been 18-24 ft of water. The best approach has been drop shotting small Yum Houdini worms in green pumpkin color or lindy rigging nightcrawlers. The early a.m. bite is the best so get out early for the most success. Some top water success is coming in the areas of the lake with the emergent weeds. The weeds are few and far between, there’s a nice patch by the old Military Academy and by Linn Pier. Once you find them, the bass are underneath and are accessible in shallow water.
Bluegills and Pumpkin seeds are ferociously biting right now. The best is 20-21 ft of water. They are aggressively hitting leaf worms fished on a split shot rig. Look for the fish by Elgin Club and the old Military Academy. Some of the bigger fish are coming in excess of 21 ft of water.
Northern Pike action has been very slow. Some of the bigger fish are being caught in the Fontana Beach channel. The best depth is 32-33 ft of water. You want to lindy rig medium suckers on a ¾ sinker with a 1/0 hook and a 24 inch leader.
Lake Trout fishing remains excellent. You want to position your bait 70-76 ft down in the main lake basin; anywhere between 108-110 ft of water. Nickel and blue and nickel and green are out producing everything else.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050