Delavan Lake Fishing Report 8/6/12 through 8/13/12
Fishing on Delavan Lake continues to be excellent. The best bite on the lake remains bluegills with Largemouth bass being a close second. Both fish are on the deep weedlines in 16-18 ft of water. With the warmer weather, boat traffic is extreme so try for early a.m. or late p.m.
Largemouth bass can be caught on two different patterns. They can be caught in the shallows on top water lures. Chrome/blue or chrome/black chug bugs or pop-r’s are producing most of the success. Boat dock fishing has been excellent. The warm water hasn’t affected the largemouth bass as much as the walleye and northern pike. They can be caught primarily on the north shore piers or just outside the piers on the weedline.
Northern pike action has been very spotty. The warm water has really affected them. This time of year it is normal to be catching 7 or 8 fish per trip, this year it’s a struggle to catch even one. I’ve been lindy rigging suckers in 22-24 ft of water. I’m averaging one fish per two trips out. I have always been bringing medium suckers because the largemouth also can be aggressive with them.
Bluegill fishing has been phenomenal. The fish are in the 15-19 ft depth range. Look for the fish by the island or west of Willow Point. The best approach is a split shot rig and a single hook. I free line them away from the boat. Either red worms or leaf worms have been working well.
Walleye fishing has been rather slow. The best time to catch them is first light or at dusk. Trolling deep diving crank baits along the weed lines have been producing most of the action. The best color has been fire tiger or a crappie pattern. You want to troll by Assembly park or Yacht club point and don’t overlook Browns Channel. If the boat traffic isn’t severe that can also be a great location.
Crappie fishing has also been outstanding. The crappies are suspending 10 ft down in 20-30 ft of water. They can be caught on purple or pink plastics. The best location has been by 3 flags or Belvidere Park. It’s pretty obvious where the active fish are because they are busting the surface for bugs in the deep water.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050
Daily Reports
8/4/12 Delavan Lake, 90 degrees, sunny, no wind, water temp 80 degrees. Caught 21 largemouth bass, 9 were legal, and one walleye. Jumped around all day from main lake point to main lake point catching a couple fish in each location. Again, split shot rigged nightcrawlers brought the most success. A few fish did come off of medium suckers fished on a Thill big fish slip bobber.
8/3/12 Delavan Lake, 90 degrees, sunny, winds SW at 10 mph, water temp 79 degrees. Caught 9 largemouth and 50-60 bluegills. The fish were positioned outside the weed edge in 18-20 ft of water. Most of the success came west of Del Mar using a split shot rigged nightcrawler.
7/31/12 Delavan Lake, 85 degrees, sunny, light winds out of the SW, water temp 79 degrees. Caught 8 largemouth and 1 walleye. Fish were caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers. Moved all over the lake, most of the action was coming on weed points, west of the yacht club and west of willow point.
7/30/12 Delavan Lake, 80 degrees, sunny, lights winds out of the SE, water temp 79 degrees. Caught 9 largemouth and a bunch of bluegills. The fish were on the weedline in 15-18 ft of water. Fished for them on split shot rigged nightcrawlers. Best location was just west of the Yacht Club.