Lake Geneva Area Fishing Report 10/15/12
With the cooling temperatures, the fish have been aggressively biting. The best bite on the lake has been the smallmouth bass and the yellow perch.
Smallmouth bass can be caught lindy rigging in 22-28 ft of water off the main lake points. I’ve been catching most of my fish by the Yacht Club, Military Academy or in front of Gage Marine. The fish can be caught on fat head minnows or yellow perch caught in the lake. With cooler temperatures forecasted, the fish will even move shallower making the main lake points even more productive. For shallower points, try Black Point and Conference Point.
Yellow perch can be caught in 2-9 ft of water. The best location is by Knollwood, Rainbow Point or Belvidere Park. The best approach is fishing Thill slip bobbers tipped with a fat head minnow. You want to position the bait, 1 foot above the weeds or 1 foot above the bottom. There are a lot of fish in the 10-12 inch range.
Largemouth bass are in the shallows. Look for the fish in Geneva Bay around the piers or in Trinkes. With the cooler water, the fish have moved very shallow, look for them in 4-6 ft of water. The best approach is casting spinner baits or a white swim jig. This bite will be consistent for the next few weeks with the water temperatures as cool as they are.
Northern pike have moved into the shallow weeds. The best bet is Williams Bay or Fontana Beach. They can be caught on slip bobber rigged large golden shiners or medium suckers. You want to position the boat in 12-15 ft of water, keeping the bait 1-2 ft above the weeds.
Walleyes can be caught at night. They are being caught on large Rapallas or Smithwick medium diving rogues. The best location has been trolling from Abbey Springs to the Yacht Club or in front of Yerkes Observatory.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050.
Daily Reports
10/13/12 Lake Geneva, cloudy, rainy, 55 degrees, winds W at 10-15 mph. Water temp 55 degrees. Caught 25 smallmouth. The fish were caught on lindy rigged large fat head minnows. The best location was by the Military Academy and by the Yacht Club. This time of year, the fish are very schooled up so if you catch one there is a likelihood you will catch several more.
10/10/12 Lake Geneva, sunny, 60 degrees, W winds at 15-30 mph. Water temp 56 degrees. Caught 15 smallmouth bass - 7 were legal, and 20 perch. The fish were located in 25-28 ft of water. Fished large fat head minnows on lindy rigs on the east side of Conference Point and in front of Gage Marine.