Lake Geneva 9/14/20 through 9/21/20
Well there’s good news and bad news on Lake Geneva. Since Labor Day has come and gone, the pleasure boat traffic has dropped off a lot. There is plenty of room for the fishing boats. The bad news of course, is that the fishing is just not that great.
The largemouth bass are in small schools. Once you hit a school you can catch a few but then you’ll have to keep moving to find the next schools. The majority of fish seem to be in the 1 ½ to 2 lb range, so there not huge either. Look for them in 20 ft of water. Try drop shotting or lindy rigging live nightcrawlers. For the drop shot rig, use a 4-inch green pumpkin worm or pearl and black sassy shads. The best location is by Trinkes Bay or by Knollwood.
The northern pike bite is still miserable. That disease they had last year must have knocked the population way down. There are few being caught in deep water and a few in the shallows. The best fish have been caught while casting white spinner baits in 10-12 ft of water over weeds. Try for the fish in Fontana or Williams Bay. Pike fishing should improve once all the fish move shallow. Fall is the time to slip bobber fish for them in the shallow weeds.
Smallmouth bass can be caught in about 26-28 ft of water, sometimes deeper. They have not really schooled up as they usually do this time of year. The water temperature has been a challenge this year. Some big fish have been caught, in excess of 20 inches, but it’s search and find. The best bait is lindy rigging nightcrawlers. Depending on the wind I use a ¼ oz to ½ oz weight, with a 24-inch leader. The best location has been by the Military Academy or Elgin Club.
Perch have been all over the 8-12 ft range. As usual, you need to do a lot of sorting to catch a decent limit. Slip bobbers fished with fat head minnows are producing most of the action. Look for the fish by Rainbow point or by Knollwood.
Rock bass are literally everywhere. There’s no problem catching them, sometimes the problem is keeping them off your line while you’re fishing for other species.
Bluegill and sunfish have been great. The fish are in 21 to 26 feet of water. Small leaf worms fished on a split shot rig. Work the bait six inches off bottom. The fish are off the weeds, I locate the fish locator before I start fishing.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 608-883-2050