Big Bluegill on Lake Geneva
Small waxworms on ice fishing jigs with a drop shot rig work wonders. 12 to 18 feet of water. Occasional smallmouth bass with lots of rock bass mixed in as well. Find weeds and you’ll find fish. Watch your depth finder. No boat control, no fish. Lake Geneva is like one big cliff under water.
Trolling Crankbaits on Lake Geneva at Night
Trolling crankbaits is a great way to fish at night. Not much work to do either. Stay in 12 to 20 feet of water, preferably around some weeds and get ready.
Smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and an occasional walleye and big rock bass.
Jig and Nightcrawler - Smallmouth Bass on Lake Geneva
I use a jig and a nightcrawler and I fish shallower than most anglers for smallmouth bass on Lake Geneva. I fish in Williams Bay and I fish just off the docks in 10 t0 15 feet of water.
I keep it basic. Lots of rock bass, small perch, bluegill and smallmouth bass. 12 to 16 inch smallmouth bass are common with some in the 3 pound range. Bigger fish are deeper, but I like action.
Just a tip…If you fish this way and you stay shallower, you may need 100 plus nightcrawlers for the day. Lots of rock bass, perch and bluegill. Oh…I almost forgot. Go light with the tackle. 6# flourocarbon line with ultra light rod and reel.
Lake Geneva Resources:
- Lake Geneva Bait Shops
- Lake Geneva Beaches
- Lake Geneva Boat Launches
- Lake Geneva Boat Rentals
- Lake Geneva Fishing Guides
- Lake Geneva Lodging
- Lake Geneva Lake Maps
Clear Water Fishing is Tough on Lake Geneva
I saw your pike video recently. Pretty cool. I wish it was longer. You must have only gotten one that day.
I have a tough time fishing Lake Geneva. Lots of fishing pressure and not much action so I typically end up live bait fishing and catching some rock bass and bluegill.
Rock bass are all over the docks, but the big ones seem to be deep. Big bluegill seem to be deep also…making it tough to find them.
Good luck to anyone that fishes this lake. It’s a trophy lake, but it’s tough to learn. I’ll stick with Lake Delavan and the smaller lakes in southern Wisconsin.
Lake Geneva Resources:
- Lake Geneva Bait Shops
- Lake Geneva Beaches
- Lake Geneva Boat Launches
- Lake Geneva Boat Rentals
- Lake Geneva Fishing Guides
- Lake Geneva Lodging
- Lake Geneva Lake Maps
Drop Shot 20 to 40 Feet of Water for Lake Geneva Smallmouth Bass
I don’t fish this lake much anymore, but when I can, I fish deep and I drop shot nightcrawlers, minnows and hair jigs tipped with some live bait.
It works. I don’t even bother to go shallow. There are always big smallmouth bass deep on this lake. It just takes some time to catch them.
Hair jigs work great when bass come up and feed on bait fish near the surface as well. 40 feet of water and bass feeding on top. Pretty cool and it happens all summer. They feed on very small minnows when they are hitting at the surface.
Lake Geneva Resources:
- Lake Geneva Bait Shops
- Lake Geneva Beaches
- Lake Geneva Boat Launches
- Lake Geneva Boat Rentals
- Lake Geneva Fishing Guides
- Lake Geneva Lodging
- Lake Geneva Lake Maps
Fishing at Night is the Trick to Catching Fish in Lake Geneva
Fishing at night is the only way I fish this lake. Too many crazy boaters during the day. Huge ferry boats, tons of fishing pressure and clear water.
I’d rather not fish for 8 hours and catch 2 bass during the day. Overcast days are productive, but you still have to deal with the pleasure boaters. Put the time in at night and you’ll catch largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and the occasional walleye. Some BIG walleye also. Just not very many.
Crankbaits and spinnerbaits are all you need to use, although, plenty of other baits will work. I prefer dark colors and I have better success during the full moon.
Lake Geneva Resources:
- Lake Geneva Bait Shops
- Lake Geneva Beaches
- Lake Geneva Boat Launches
- Lake Geneva Boat Rentals
- Lake Geneva Fishing Guides
- Lake Geneva Lodging
- Lake Geneva Lake Maps
Dead Sticking Smallmouth Bass on Lake Geneva
Just a technique some anglers might want to try. Most people are not patient enough to dead stick their baits, but it works on this lake and I’m sure plenty of other lakes as well.
Lots of pressured fish on Lake Geneva. Lots of boat traffic. Sometimes, just moving your bait a little bit and then just letting it sit will pay off big time….especially for big smallmouth bass.
I dead stick when I am drop shotting soft plastics and live bait. It kind of started with me when I was answering my cell phone and just letting my bait sit still. Bam…big smallmouth bass.
After a couple of posts in a forum, I found out there was a name for it. Dead sticking.
Not for the impatient fishermen, but it works.
Lake Geneva Resources:
- Lake Geneva Bait Shops
- Lake Geneva Beaches
- Lake Geneva Boat Launches
- Lake Geneva Boat Rentals
- Lake Geneva Fishing Guides
- Lake Geneva Lodging
- Lake Geneva Lake Maps
Lake Geneva - The Narrows - Fish the Weed Shelves
The weed shelves in the narrows of Lake Geneva can be great for catching largemouth bass. I prefer to fish at night. I try to stay away from the crazy boaters and the fish do feed a little more aggressively at night for me.
Crankbaits, soft plastics and live bait. Drop-shotting nigthcrawlers can be very productive.
I don’t catch many smallmouth in this area, but maybe that’s just me.
It looks like you’re just starting to post some of the tips from users. Please feel free to post my tip and I’ll try to keep contributing as I get out on the water.
Lake Geneva Resources:
- Lake Geneva Bait Shops
- Lake Geneva Beaches
- Lake Geneva Boat Launches
- Lake Geneva Boat Rentals
- Lake Geneva Fishing Guides
- Lake Geneva Lodging
- Lake Geneva Lake Maps
Lake Geneva Dock Fishing for Largemouth Bass
I have a lot of success fishing the docks from spring through fall. The deeper docks produce best during the summer through fall, but bass can be found around the shallow and deep docks in the spring.
It takes time to learn which docks have the deeper water. Find deeper water with weeds near the docks and you’ll always have a place to catch largemouth bass. Try to find 20 to 30 docks like this and you’ll be able to catch fish consistently here.
Good baits during the day time hours: jigs, plastic worms, senkos, chatterbaits. Can’t go wrong with live bait either…nightcrawlers, minnows, suckers and small perch will work.
Good baits at night: topwater lures, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs, chatterbaits, in-line spinners.
Lake Geneva Resources:
- Lake Geneva Bait Shops
- Lake Geneva Beaches
- Lake Geneva Boat Launches
- Lake Geneva Boat Rentals
- Lake Geneva Fishing Guides
- Lake Geneva Lodging
- Lake Geneva Lake Maps
Lake Geneva Bluegill Fishing
Lake Geneva has some excellent bluegill fishing. I don’t fish for bluegill a lot, but I do catch quite a few big ones every year while I am fishing for smallmouth bass with a live leech or nightcrawler. I’m typically using a drop shot rig with a small hook, 4 pound test and my live bait. Every once in a while, I’ll run into a school of big bluegill and I’ll hammer quite a few of them in a short amount of time.
They fight hard, taste great and are easy to catch. I don’t spend much time targeting them, so I’m sure the good bluegill fishermen can do really well on this lake for bluegill. When I do catch them, it seems like I drifted into a little shallower water than I intended to. I’ll be fishing 22 to 35 feet of water for smallmouth bass, then all of a sudden, I’ll catch a big bluegill. A quick look at the graph and I can see that I’m in 16 to 18 feet of water. This is the situation the majority of the time when I run into bigger bluegill. I’ll catch a few real quick, then get back into deeper water for the smallmouth bass.
Lake Geneva Resources:
