Delavan Lake Fishing Report 7/15/13 through 7/22/13
The fish are in their mid summer patterns. The water temperatures have increased so most of the fish are in the deeper water and aggressively hitting. With the excessive rains we had a couple of weeks ago, there is a severe algae bloom on the lake.
Walleye fishing can be good given enough time. The fish can be caught on leeches fished on small jigs or on chrome and blue jigging rapalas. The best depth has been 21-25 ft of water. Look for the fish off of Assembly Park point or by Willow Point. You need to move around to find the active fish. Most of the success is coming in early morning or right before the sun sets.
Bluegills are on the weedline in 14-16 ft of water. The best location is by Browns Channel or just west of the Yacht Club. They are aggressively striking leaf worms fished on a split shot rig. With all of the pressure the fish are seeing, the average size is slightly reduced from recent weeks. As the water continues to warm, the fish will move even deeper.
Largemouth bass are in their summer pattern. They are schooled up in large numbers. If you find a school you should be able to catch double digits without much problem. I’ve been fishing them with split shot rigged nightcrawlers or casting a black and blue All Terrain jig. The best depth to look for them is in 16-18 ft of water.
Northern pike action remains steady. The best depth is 20-25 ft of water. The best approach has been lindy rigging large suckers. Currently the pike are preferring the bigger bait. Look for the fish by the gray condos or by the old Boy Scout camp on the west end.
Smallmouth bass fishing has been kind of spotty. The numbers in the lake have improved greatly over recent years. I’ve been catching several every trip out. The best approach is a split shot rigged nightcrawler fished along the weedline associated with rock. Some of my favorite spots are the Yacht club or Browns channel.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050
Daily Reports
7/13/13 - Delavan Lake, sunny, 80 degrees, winds SW at 5 mph. Water temp 79 degrees. Caught 1 walleye, 5 largemouth bass, 1 smallmouth and a bunch of bluegills. Fished a few hours with my son and a friend trying to catch some walleyes. Stayed in the deeper water in 21-25 ft of water but the walleyes weren't that interested. The largemouth bass were on the weedline very thick.
7/12/13 - Delavan Lake, sunny, 75 degrees, calm winds, water temp 79 degrees. This was a walleye only trip. Caught 8 walleyes, 1 legal and we caught 6 largemouth and 2 northern pike while fishing for the walleyes. The best depth was 21 ft of water. We fished pink jigs and lindy rigs tipped with leeches. Due to the high skies and lack of wind, walleye fishing was tough but we moved around until we found an active school.
7/11/13 - Lake Geneva, sunny, 80 degrees, light winds out of the south, water temp 76 degrees. Caught 9 largemouth bass and a bunch of rock bass and bluegills. The best location was by Linn Pier in 12-13 ft of water. Most of the fish were caught on nightcrawlers fished on a split shot rig. There were some caught on a white hair jig.