Lake Geneva Fishing Report 5/13/12 through 5/20/12
Even though the spring has been exceptionally warm, the water temperature hasn’t increased yet. Currently the lake is fishing exactly like it would in a normal year, where March wasn’t 70-80 degrees.
Rock bass are pretty much everywhere in 6-7 ft of water. The best location is Belvidere Park and by Knollwood. The best approach is a split shot rigged fat head minnow slowly drifted or electric trolled. Due to the water temperature and the lack of ice, there’s a lot of heavy green moss so you need to clean your bait frequently. Some of the fish I’ve caught were in excess of 15 inches last week.
Largemouth bass are in 3-4 ft of water in the shallow harbors. They are being caught on All Terrain Stiks or Senkos. Green pumpkin color has been producing the most action. Most of the action has been in the early a.m. before the boat traffic comes into play. The best locations are by Trinkes or Abbey Harbor.
Perch fishing has been one of the best bites on the lake. They are in 3-4 ft of water. The best location is by Black Point or by Knollwood. You must use minnows fished beneath a slip bobber. The bigger the minnow the bigger the perch is a pretty safe bet.
Bluegills and Sunfish are in the shallows in 3-4 ft of water. I’ve caught some of the biggest fish in Abbey Harbor. Some of the Sunfish have been in excess of 10 inches. I’ve been using a nightcrawler on a split shot rig however, if I had leaf worms on a slip bobber I’d be having even more success. This past Sunday, I caught several Pumpkin seeds in the 9-10 inch range.
Smallmouth bass have been very slow. Due to cool water, they are still very sporadic. I spoke with several people that caught them in 25 ft of water right on bottom which is unusual since they are typically in the top 5 ft of water chasing pods of bait fish. I’d recommend white hair jigs fished have way down in the water column. Look for the fish by Knollwood and by Belvidere Park.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050