Delavan Lake 6/1/20 through 6/8/20
The warmer water temperatures have improved fishing greatly. The storm fronts throughout the week did little to negatively affect fishing. The fish are starting to act like they normally do this time of year.
Largemouth bass are spawning in the shallows. Look for them in 1-4 ft. of water, they are guarding their nests and chasing away the pesky bluegills. Last week a lot of really big fish were caught, some of the fish weighed in at close to 6 pounds. The best locations are bays with sand bottom. Look for the spawning fish by Lake Lawn Lodge and the north shore piers by Willow Point. Jigs and night crawlers have been producing most of the fish. The water is very clear which makes sight fishing much easier.
Smallmouth bass have been in 15-24 ft. depth range, on the break lines. I caught several nice fish this week. I was using night crawlers fished either on a lindy rig or a split shot rig. With the clear water, the lighter the weight the more productivity you can have and less problems with the weeds. The fish I caught have not spawned yet.
Bluegill fishing has been all right. Some of the fish are in the shallows preparing to spawn and others are still very deep. When I was fishing on Saturday I found several schools of large bluegills in 30 ft. of water. All the fish that I caught were full of spawn. A good depth finder is a necessity when trying to locate schools of deep pan fish. The best baits continue to be leaf worms or red worms. For the deep fish, I straight lined beneath the boat about a foot off bottom. If the weather stays warm all the fish should be up shallow spawning.
Northern Pike are still available in the shallow bays. White spinner baits and perch colored crank baits are producing fish. Slip-Bobbers fished with suckers are also producing a ton of fish. The best depth to work is 6-12 ft. of water. As the water warms the pike will move further out on the weed line until they reach their summer pattern in 16-25 ft. of water.
Crappies are prevalent all over the lake. Pretty much every spot I’ve tried I’ve found fish. The only problem is that most of the fish I’ve been catching are in the 6-7 inch range so you need to do a lot of sorting to catch a good meal. The crappies have not yet spawned. They are located on the outside of the weed edge in 12-15 ft. of water. The fish are suspending and can be easily caught using small twister tails or cubby jigs. White, yellow and chartreuse have been the best colors.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063