Delavan Lake 5/20/13 through 5/27/13
Fishing on Delavan Lake has been really good. The bass are starting to spawn in the shallows and the Northern Pike remain in the shallow weed flats feeding heavily.
Largemouth bass are in 3-4 feet of water. The best location has been by Lake Lawn Golf Course, the Highland and Viewcrest Bays. They are cruising the shallows beginning their spawn. With the ultra clear water, the best time is early morning or evening or cloudy days. They have been very spooky, so long casts are a necessity. The best approach is casting Yum Dingers in green pumpkin or Root beer colors with red flake. With the cool water temperatures, the pleasure boating traffic has been light so enjoy the calm lake while it lasts.
Northern Pike action has been very good. I’ve had double digit catches every trip this week. The best location has been in Viewcrest Bay or by Browns Channel. The northern pike are in weed flats with hard sand bottom. I’ve been using Thill slip bobbers fished with medium suckers. Put the suckers about 4 ft under the surface of the water. There have been quite a few small ones but we’ve also caught a few legal fish as well.
The bluegill fishing has been okay in 2-3 ft of water. They are very tight to the bank in and around the piers. The best approach has been fishing small red worms on a bobber rig. Look for the fish by Willow Point or by Viewcrest.
Crappie action has been very good. The fish I’ve been keying on are in 6-8 ft of water. The fish are located in front of Lake Lawn or by Browns Channel. Purple and pink plastic have been producing most of the action. With the clear water, long casts are needed as well as a slow retrieve back to the boat with an occasional pause.
Walleye fishing has been spotty. Most of the bigger fish are coming out of 20 ft of water. Lindy rigging small suckers or extra large fat head minnows has been producing most of the success. The best location has been off of the north shore from the Yacht Club down to the old marina.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050
Daily Reports
5/19/13 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 85 degrees, winds calm, water temp 64 degrees. Caught 13 largemouth and 10 northern pike. The same patterns continued to work today. It's always a great day when you are hitting double digits in multiple species.
5/18/13 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 78 degrees, winds light out of the east, water temp 62 degrees. Caught 14 largemouth, 1 smallmouth and 11 northern pike. The fish were still in the shallows in 3-4 ft of water. The pike again hit on slip bobber rigged suckers.
5/17/13 - Delavan Lake - cloudy, E winds at 15-20 mph, air temp 63 degrees, water temp 62 degrees. Caught 19 largemouth bass - 4 were legal, 3 smallmouth - 1 was legal, 2 walleyes - 1 was legal and 15 northern pike. Finally I had a really good day on the water. It was weird with the cold front and strong east wind but they were biting. Fish every opportunity, because you just never know. All the bass and walleye were caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers in 3-4 ft of water. The northern pike were caught near Browns Channel in 10 ft of water.
5/16/13 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 78 degrees, calm winds, water temp 62 degrees. Caught 8 northerns and 5 largemouth bass. The northerns were caught in 10 ft of water by Browns Channel on slip bobber rigged medium suckers. The bass again were tight to shore in 3-4 ft of water.
5/14/13 - Delavan Lake - sunny, 85 degrees, water temp 60 degrees, W winds at 5-10 mph. Caught 5 northerns, 6 largemouth bass - 3 were legal. The northern pike were caught in 10 ft of water on medium suckers fished beneath a Thill slip bobber. The bass were caught tight to shore in 2-3 ft of water. The bass were caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers.