Lake Geneva 4/29/12 through 5/6/12
With the cool nights, the lake temperature remains pretty cold. We need some warm weather to make the fish active. The best bite for opening day on Saturday May 5th will be in water 4-5 ft deep. In early spring I however like to target smallmouth bass that are suspending around pods of bait fish. Catching them though can be very tough!
Smallmouth bass will be suspended in 12-15 ft of water. Use small hair jigs fished on 6 lb test. You want to swim the hair jigs back to the boat. It mimics the mirror shiners that are in the lake. The best location is by Elgin Club and by Belvidere Park.
Largemouth bass will be in the shallows in 3-4 ft of water. Look for the fish in Abbey Harbor and Trinkes. They can be caught on a Texas rigged Yum Dinger or a nightcrawler fished on a split shot rig. The fish are going to be pretty lethargic due to the water temperature. The spawn is about 1 month away.
Northern Pike will be scattered in the weed flats in 6-7 ft of water. They can be caught on Rapala Husky jerks in chrome/blue or chrome/black. The best location is by Trinkes or in Williams Bay. The secondary approach is anchoring and slip bobber rigging with golden shiners.
The perch bite remains in 4-5 ft of water. The best location has been by the beach near Fontana or in Knollwood. They are being caught on bobbers and small fat head minnows. It seems that the bigger minnows catch the bigger fish. Due to the water clarity they seem to bite better in low light conditions or when there is cloud cover.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050