Delavan Lake Fishing Report 7/23/12 through 7/30/12
Fishing on Delavan Lake is slower than it’s been in the past few years. I’m not sure if it’s due to the warm summer or the massive amounts of fishing pressure. The water to me seems about 12-18 inches lower than normal. You need to watch the boat launch channel on the way through as the water at the tip of the jetty is only about 2 ft deep.
Bluegill fishing has been fantastic. The bluegills are in 15-18 ft of water. It hasn’t been hard to catch a limit of nice fish. Just a single hook and a small split shot fished beneath the boat has been producing most of the fish. The best location has been by Browns Channel or by Del mar.
Largemouth bass remain schooled up off of main lake weed points. Most of the success has been coming off of the points, like the Village Supper Club, the concrete point or Willow Point. This time of year you want to find areas with hard bottom associated with the weeds. The bass will school up there and hold in large groups. The best approach is a split shot rigged nightcrawler or in low light conditions they are aggressively hitting top water lures. For the lures, try chrome/black or chrome/blue colors. For dock fisherman are having a lot of luck in sunny conditions. North shore piers are very productive. Try the area from the Yacht club to Willow Point. This section of the lake has deep water piers which seem to hold the bigger fish.
Northern Pike fishing has been horrible for me this year. I’m catching one or two per trip on medium suckers. I don’t know if I’m in the wrong locations or if they just aren’t biting well. I’ve been lindy rigging them in 15-18 ft of water. Most years, it’s common to catch 6 or 7 in a trip, this year that’s been closer to the best trip of the year. The best location I’ve heard of has been by the Yacht Club or the Village Supper Club.
Walleye fishing has slowed a bit with the heat. The best time to fish is right at dusk in 15-17 ft of water. Jumbo leaches fished on a lindy rig with a chartreuse painted hook are catching most of the fish. Look for the fish over by the point by Browns Channel or just west of Willow Point.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050