Lake Geneva 3/25/12 through 4/1/12
By Licensed Guide Dave Duwe
It appears that summer has come early to Walworth County. Fishing is about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. I’ve been fishing pan fish the last few weeks due to the fact that opening day for game fish doesn’t occur until the first Saturday in May.
Bluegill fishing has been pretty good in Trinkes harbor and in Abbey Harbor. You need to sort through a lot of fish to catch the ones suitable to keep. The best bait is wax worms fished on a small bobber. Due to the water clarity on Geneva, choose a bobber that’s big enough to keep the bait off the bottom, but the smaller the bobber the better. The line choice is no bigger than 4 lb test. The thicker diameter line tends to yield less fish. As of today’s date, the Abbey is still allowing people to fish off the piers, over the next few weeks when the boats start to come, they will ban the access.
Crappie fishing has been sporadic. The best location has been by the Geneva Inn and by Covenant Harbor. Look for the fish in 6-8 fish in the shallow weeds. The best approach is casting small white hair jigs or small fat head minnows. Lake Geneva, as a rule, is difficult to pattern the crappies so you need to keep moving to locate an active school.
Perch fishing has been very good. The fish have been by Knollwood and by Belvidere Park. The best depth is 6-8 ft of water. The best presentation is a Thill slip bobber tipped with a small fat head minnow about 1 ft above bottom. Overall, the fish are a bit small so plan to sort quite a bit to catch a meal, it is well worth the effort however.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050