Lake Geneva Fishing Report 7/29/13 through 8/5/13
Overall fishing remains above average, even considering the incredible fall weather we had this past weekend in July! The only fish not biting well, is the northern pike, everything else is quite active.
Northern pike has been spotty. There are a few fish being caught in the shallower water, 22-23 ft. Most of the success is coming on lindy rigged suckers. Look for the fish in Fontana by the beach or over by Abbey Springs. The fish should improve once the weather warms up again. The fish are normally quite a bit deeper on the thermocline this time of year.
Smallmouth bass, unlike the northern pike, are in their mid summer pattern. The best success has been coming in deeper than 20 ft of water. Look for the areas with hard bottom and scattered weeds. Most of the success I’ve been having has come while drop shotting small Yum Houdini worms or lindy rigging leeches and nightcrawlers. The best location has been by the Military Academy or by Fontana Beach. The bass are in small schools, so once you find one, you should have more to follow.
The big bluegills have moved into the deeper water. They are in the 18-20 ft depth range. Look for the fish by Elgin Club or by Abbey Springs. With my Hummingbird depth finder they are easy to see and are located about 1 ft off bottom. The best bait is small leaf worms fished straight beneath the boat.
Largemouth bass have also moved deep. They are in the 20-25 ft depth range. I’ve been catching most of mine while Carolina rigging Zoom lizards in green pumpkin or lindy rigging nightcrawlers. The best location this time of year is either in Williams Bay or by Trinkes. Other locations around the lake have been okay but it’s hit or miss.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050
Daily Report
7/29/13 - Delavan Lake, 62 degrees, winds E at 10mph. Water temp 76 degrees. Caught 18 largemouth bass, 2 northern pike and a bunch of bluegills. The bigger fish today were caught on a Thill Big Fish slip bobber with medium suckers. I caught most of the fish in less than 13 ft of water.
7/28/13 - Lake Geneva, 60 degrees, N winds at 15 mph. Water temp 74 degrees. Caught 9 smallmouth bass, 4 were legal, and 3 largemouth bass, the largest was over 6 lbs. Fished in 21-25 ft depth range. With the strong north winds, we fished on the north shore and by Gage Marine. The best approach was lindy rigging nightcrawlers.
7/27/13 - Delavan lake, 60 degrees and sunny, light winds out of the SW. Water temp 76 degrees. Had a bluegill trip and we kept 40 fish and had them cleaned by 10 a.m. The bigger fish were in exactly 16 ft of water. The best presentation was straight lining beneath the boat with leaf worms.
7/26/13 - Lake Geneva, 60 degrees and cloudy, light winds out of the SW. Water temp 74 degrees. Caught 21 smallmouth bass, only 3 were legal and a bunch of good bluegills. We worked by the old Military Academy. The best depth was 21-22 ft of water. Leeches and nightcrawlers produced most of the action.
7/25/13 - Delavan Lake, 75 degrees and cloudy, SW winds at 10 mph. Water temp 80 degrees. Caught 15 largemouth and 2 walleyes. The fish were caught on leeches and split shot rigged nightcrawlers. We were working a depth of 18-20 ft of water.
7/22/13 - Delavan Lake, 86 degrees and sunny, SW winds at 10 mph. Water temp 82 degrees. Caught 30 largemouth bass and 50 bluegills. The bass were all schooled up in a small area, most of the success came on split shot rigged nightcrawlers. We also caught a few northern pike.