Lake Geneva Fishing Report 7/9/12 through 7/16/12
All the warm weather over the past few weeks has the lake water some of the warmest I’ve seen in July in 21 years of guiding. The good news is that it hasn’t affected fishing.Fishing remains excellent.
Even though we have 80 degree surface temperatures, the large and smallmouth bass are still relatively shallow. Most of my success is coming 15-17 ft of water. Most of the locations I’ve been fishing have had both small and largemouth equally distributed. The best action I had last week was by the Military Academy. The fish can be caught by drop shotting small finesse worms or by Lindy rigging nightcrawlers. With either presentation you want to fish vertically beneath the boat. Within the next couple of weeks, the fish will slowly move down the break lines, so you want to gradually start fishing deeper.
Bluegill action has been very good in 12-15 ft of water. They have been intermixed with the bass also. The best location has been by Knollwood or by the Military Academy. The bigger fish are coming off of split shot rigged nightcrawlers and large red worms.
Lake Trout fishing has been good. The best water depth has been 106-112 ft of water. I’ve been catching most of my fish between 65 and 75 ft down. I’ve been using nickel/blue and nickel/green flutter spoons. I do attach a small dodger about 10 inches above the spoons for added flash.
Northern Pike have just started. The thermocline is in about 28 ft of water. The best approach is lindy rigging suckers. The basic rig is 17 lb test, a ¾ oz walking sinker and a 1/0 hook. I use a leader line of approximately 24 inches. The best location has been by Fontana Beach or on the north side of the narrows.
Rock bass have remained very active. The best depth is 12-15 ft of water. They can be caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers or small plastics. The bigger fish seem to come out of slightly deeper water. The biggest fish I caught last week was 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