Lake Geneva Fishing Report 6/15/20 through 6/22/20
This past week fishing was up and down. The earlier half of the week the fish were very active and by mid-week fishing was slow. But with the sunny weekend the fishing on Saturday and Sunday was pretty good. This year has been very bizarre, the largemouth and smallmouth bass are all doing different things – some are done spawning, some are still spawning and others have yet to begin. Many of the tournament fishermen on the weekend were sight fishing the shallow waters.
Largemouth bass fishing has been the most consistent bite on the lake. The fish are in the weeds or in the shallows spawning. Most of the fish are being caught in 8-10 ft. of water. The best location has been the buoys in Lake Geneva and west of Linn Pier. Live bait fishermen using nightcrawlers are having more consistent catches. Pre-rigged worms, purple or black, have also been working on the fish in the weeds. Sight fishermen are having success flipping jigs and grubs on the spawning beds. Most of the sight fishing that I saw this weekend was in Geneva Bay in the 10-12 ft depth range.
Smallmouth bass have been kind of sporadic. Some days you can catch a bunch and the next day they are gone. My best luck last week was fishing nightcrawlers in 8-10 ft. of water. Some of the fish I’ve caught still had spawn in them and others were completely spawned out. The smallmouth chasing pods of minnows have been very easy to catch. The best bait has been either a jerk bait or free floating a nightcrawler. The hit has been very subtle. There has been some success fishing top water lures, like the Pop-R or the chug bug. The chrome and blue or chrome and black have been the best color type.
Crappies are being caught and in pretty good numbers. They are starting to move out into a little deeper water. They are in the 12-15 ft. depth range. The best bait has been either small minnows fished with slip bobbers or the clear tube jigs 1/32 oz. The best location has been by the Geneva Inn or west of Conference Point by the buoys. Another spot that shouldn’t be overlooked is the east side of Williams Bay.
Rock Bass and Bluegills are literally everywhere throughout the lake. The best depth of water has been 8-15 ft. of water. Nightcrawlers are producing most of the fish. It isn’t hard to go through 10-12 dozen nightcrawlers in a 4-hour guide party. I caught most of the larger rock bass west of Linn Pier.
Walleye fishing has been very slow. I’ve only heard of one fish caught and it was on the deep break in front of Elgin club in 18 ft. of water. With warmer water, Walleye fishing should improve.
Good luck and I hope to see you on the water. Be safe with Covid-19. For guide parties, please call Dave Duwe at 262-728-8063