Lake Geneva Fishing report 8/19/13 through 8/26/13
Fishing on Lake Geneva remains outstanding. There are multiple species active. The number one bite on the lake is the smallmouth bass, followed by Lake Trout. There are only a few weeks of summer left so hurry and get out there before it’s too late.
Smallmouth bass are in the 18-22 ft depth range. They are biting on nightcralwers, drop shot rigged plastic worms and small suckers. Most of my fish are being caught just west of Conference Point or in Fontana. The fish are in tight schools, so if you catch a couple remain in the same area and you should be able to catch some more.
Lake Trout fishing has been very good in the main lake basin. The fish are 70-75 ft down. The fish are being caught on dodgers and flies. Nickel and blue or nickel and green spoons are the best bet. I place the lures about 25 ft behind the down rigger ball.
Bluegill and Sunfish are really schooled up in the deep water. The best location has been by Fontana Beach. The bigger fish are coming off of leaf worms fished straight beneath the boat. You will catch more sunfish than you will bluegills but a lot of the sunfish are over 10 inches.
Walleye fishing has been average. Again, the best bite is during the night from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Trolling crankbaits or lindy rigging leeches are producing most of the action. The best location is by Trinkes or Abbey Springs.
Northern Pike fishing continues to be slow. I caught only one last week. For as many medium suckers that I’ve had down in the right depth range that is incredibly slow. I think with the cooler than normal summer, the thermocline isn’t as pronounced and the fish aren’t schooled up the way they have been in recent years.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050
Daily Reports
8/18/13 - Lake Geneva, sunny, 70 degrees, water temp 75 degrees, winds SW at 10 mph. Caught 6 smallmouth bass, 4 largemouth bass and a bunch of rock bass. The best depth was 15-20 ft of water. Fished by Yerkes Observatory.
8/17/13 - Delavan Lake, sunny, 70 degrees, water temp 75 degrees, winds light out of the west. Started the trip at 4 a.m. trying to get on the walleyes. Fished 5 hours without catching any. We did end up catching 4 largemouth, 2 northerns and a handful of panfish.
8/16/13 - Lake Geneva, sunny, 78 degrees, water temp 74 degrees, SW winds at 10 mph. Fished all day. Boated over 50 smallmouth bass with an occasional largemouth. The best location was in Fontana. We went through about 10 dozen nightcrawlers.
8/15/13 - Lake Geneva, sunny, 65 degrees, water temp 73 degrees, winds SW at 10 mph. Caught 15 smallmouth and 2 largemouth. The fish were really active today, the fish were caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers in 21-23 ft of water. Most fish were caught in Fontana.
8/12/13 - p.m. Lake Geneva, sunny, 75 degrees, N winds at 10 mph. Water temp 75 degrees. Caught 10 smallmouth and 2 largemouth. The best depth was 18 ft of water. All the fish were caught on split shot rigged nightcrawlers.
8/12/13 - a.m. Delavan Lake, 72 degrees, cloudy, winds SW at 10 mph. Water temp 75 degrees. Caught 13 largemouth bass, 3 were over 5 lbs. With the cooler weather, the fish were tight to the shore in 5-6 ft of water.
8/10/13 - Lake Geneva, 80 degrees, light winds, water temp 76 degrees. Caught 18 smallmouth and 3 largemouth and a whole bunch of panfish for a whole day trip. Most of the action came on split shot rigged nightcrawlers in 24-28 ft of water. We did catch one monster 22 inch smallmouth on a lindy rigged perch near Yerkes Observatory.