Lake Geneva Fishing 6/18/12 through 6/24/12
Fishing has been very good. The water has warmed to approximately 70 degrees. The largemouth bass are coming off the spawn and the Lake Trout have been aggressive.
Largemouth bass have finished spawning and are in 10-12 ft of water. They can be caught on a weightless Senko or a nightcrawler split shot rig. The best location has been by Trinkes or in Geneva Bay. The key is to keep moving. The time of day will dictate the depth of water they are in. You want to start out shallow and move deep. Occasionally the fish are in 16 ft of water, but start and 10 ft and work your way deeper as needed.
Rock bass can be caught in the shallow areas with a lot of rock. The best depth has been 12-14 ft of water. The best location has been by Belvidere Park or by Elgin Club. The rock bass haven’t been associating with the heavy weeds, so look for hard bottom with scattered weeds. The best approach has been split shot rigged nightcrawlers or small white hair jigs.
Lake Trout are located in the main lake basin. Look for them in 110-140 ft of water. The key is to fish them at first light or at dusk. The best approach has been a Silver Dodger and green or purple fly. You want to keep the bait approximately 69-79 ft down on your down rigger.
Walleye fishing has been good when there has been an adequate chop on the lake. The best location has been by Fontana Beach or by Trinkes. You want to troll medium diving crank baits on planer boards about 8 ft down in about 12-15 ft of water. Remember, the best time is between 11 pm and 3 am.
Smallmouth bass have completed their spawn and have become very sporadic. They are still close to their spawning flats but they are chasing pods of minnows. They can be caught on white hair jigs or a split shot rigged nightcrawler however the numbers just aren’t that high. I’ve only been catching one or two per trip.
Bluegill fishing has been very good. The bigger bluegills have been in 10-12 ft of water. The best locations are Geneva Bay or Trinkes Bay. You want to use a split shot rigged leaf worm or ½ of a nightcrawler. The best approach has been drifting or slowly back trolling the bait.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050