David Duwe Lake Geneva Fishing Report 7/21/14 through 7/28/14
Lake Geneva has been up and down with fishing success. Some days are better than others due to the cooler water temperatures and the scattered bait fish. If you can find the pods of minnows, you will have good success on the smallmouth bass in the deeper water. The best bite on the lake has been the smallmouth bass and bluegills.
Bluegills are very active in 18-22 ft of water. The best location has been by Elgin Club or by Gage Marine. The best approach is a split shot and a small hook tipped with a leaf worm straight lining right beneath the boat approximately 1 ft off bottom. The average size of the fish has been 7-9 inches. This bite will continue for the next few weeks because the water temperature is colder than normal.
The smallmouth bass have been active in the deeper depths of 20-25 ft. They are not in their August tight schools however if you find pods of minnows you will find actively feeding smallmouth bass. My best locations have been by Gage Marine or in Fontana by the beach. When the fish are actively feeding, it isn’t hard to catch 20-30 bass in a 4 hour outing. A lot of the fish are over 17 inches.
Northern Pike fishing has been slow due to the cooler than average water temperatures. The only pike I’ve had on have been in the 17-18 ft depth range. Look for the fish in Williams Bay. I had one of the largest fish I’ve had on in years on a medium sucker on a lindy rig. My standard lindy rig is a ¾ oz walking sinker, a 2 ft leader and a 1/0 circle hook or bait keeper hook. Fishing less than 26 ft of water, I position the bait about 1 ft to 2 ft off bottom. Anything deeper than 26 ft has no weed growth, so then I will keep the bait tight to bottom.
Largemouth bass fishing has been very good around the piers. I use a black and blue jig or a green pumpkin Wacky rigged worm. As the summer warms, the fish will start to go deeper. I have been catching some deeper but the concentration of largemouth bass has still been shallow.
Rock bass fishing has been good in a depth range of 20-25 ft. The best approach is lindy rigged nightcrawlers or small fat head minnows fished on bottom. Look for the fish by Linn Pier, Elgin club or Gage marine.
Walleye fishing has been improving. They can be readily caught at night. You want to troll large Rapalas in chrome and blue or chrome and black in approximately 17 ft of water. You want to let out 100 ft of line which will put your Rapalas in the strike zone. Look for the fish by Trinkes or by Abbey Springs.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050