Delavan Lake 5/13/12 through 5/20/12
With the cool nights, the water temperature hasn’t come up much. It is very typical for this time of year. The bluegills are shallow and the bass are cruising in 2-3 ft of water.
The best bluegill action is in 2-3 ft of water in the channels. They can be caught on slip bobbers with a small ice jig. The best location is Viewcrest and by the Highlands Channel. I have been catching a few in 6-7 ft of water, the only problem is that they aren’t that big.
Largemouth bass are being caught on Texas rigged All Terrain stiks or Senkos in green pumpkin color. The best depth is 3-4 ft of water. The water is very cold so they are still about 2 weeks away from spawning. The best location is by the outlet channel or by the golf course in front of Lake Lawn Lodge.
The best bite on the lake is Northern Pike. All you need is some sort of meat, suckers or golden shiners fished beneath a Thill slip bobber. The best location is in Highlands Bay or by Browns Channel. You want to position the bait 2-3 ft above the weeds.
Crappie fishing is rather slow. The lake temperature is a bit cold for them and the water clarity is also an issue since the fish are a bit skittish. A few fish have been caught using small plastics in 6-7 ft of water. They are waiting for warmer water to spawn, still a few weeks out.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050
Daily Reports
5/13/12 - Happy Mothers Day!
5/12/12 - Lake Geneva, water temp 56 degrees, air temp 60 degrees, N wind at 10 mph. Caught 10 largemouth bass, 20 pan fish and a bunch of rock bass. Most of the fish were in 4-5 ft of water. We were fishing mostly in Abbey Harbor in 3-4 ft of water. The rock bass were in the main lake. They were caught on fat head minnows and white hair jigs. The best location was Belvidere Park.
5/11/12 - Delavan Lake, water temp 60 degrees, air temp 65 degrees, strong SE wind at 20 mph. Caught 15 largemouth bass, 2 were legal, 1 smallmouth bass and 6 northern pike. The bass were caught in 3-4 ft of water. The northern pike were caught in 6-7 ft of water fished on Thill slip bobbers with a medium sucker. The best location was by Browns channel.
5/9/12 - Whitewater Lake, water temp 63 degrees, air temp 70 degrees, light N winds at 5 mph. Caught 10 largemouth bass. All fish were caught on Senkos, green pumpkin was the best color. We were fishing 2-3 ft of water around the bogs.