Fishing Report for Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Thursday August 31, 2000

Last week’s archived pattern is still holding true with a slight addition. The Smallies are still split in the 3 groups, each with their own general depth and food preferences. The Type A personality Smallie is feeding on crawdaddies a little shallower than the reported 16-foot minimum. We are catching Smallies as shallow as 11 feet in areas dense with crawdaddies. These Type A Smallies are mostly over 3 Lbs. Use dark colored crawdaddie cranks in the early morning hours and crawlers later in the day. Did you know the crawler has a scent similar to a crayfish? It‘s true! Many fish have no access to crawlers in their normal diet; however, when confronted with a conditioned crawler, most fish will nail it. Are you using conditioned crawlers yet? They make all the difference in the world. The shallow areas of Cisco Bay and the south edge of Buttons Bay are the best bet for Type A Smallies.

Perch, glorious Perch, I have a new respect for your Dummyboy presence on my line. Please visit me regularly for I need you. I will take you on trip. Your trip is booked when you pester and nibble on my crawler. I will confirm your reservation on board by putting you in my live well. Don’t be dismayed Mr. Perch, your destiny is not for the birds. You will not be bird food. You will be huge monster fish food though. Hey, if you are going to die at least put a smile on someone’s face. We caught a mess of Perch in shallow water while Smallie fishing and saved some for bait to use in deep water. Yes, deep water. Ever notice you don’t catch Dummyboys in deep water? That is because Dummyboys are a prime target when isolated. Well, those little Dummyboys work better than suckers or chubs for deep-water Pike! Notice I didn’t say Northern Pike. Walleye are Pike too. Can Dummyboys be the secret bait for that allusive Wisconsin State Record 20 LB Walleye? I will keep you posted.

Speaking of Walleye, I have made some interesting observations while using my new Catch Cam underwater camera. Why use a Catch Cam? As with depth/fish finders, under-water cameras show fish; however, they do not catch fish in themselves. It can be frustrating seeing hoards of big fish and not getting even a bite. So what’s the point? Well fish finders show fish locations; but, they do not tell us what kind of fish they are! What a thing of beauty it is, to know there are Walleye in the spot you are Walleye fishing in! Yes, a legitimate use for the under-water camera. But ascertaining a fish’s specie identification is not all that under-water cameras show us. We also have seen why Walleye shut down, how Walleye move across submerged islands, how Walleye react to certain baits, and how Walleye react to their surroundings. Big Walleye shut down when other fish are caught in the same area. Fins become raised and undoubtedly, fear or danger pheromones are emitted. At least 5 minutes pass before we get another taker. If a Walleye is returned, they will return to the exact spot they were caught and warn all other fish in the area with extreme panting and gill flaring. Expect at least 15 minutes before action in this type of scenario. Please note, Big Walleye from clear water lakes, behave differently than Walleye from waters with lesser visibilities. I will elaborate in depth within future reports and in "Big Walleye Are Big For A Reason".

Till the next time,...
Stay dry,
Dave Warwak

This Report brought to you by
Dave Warwak
Lake Geneva Guide Service
http://www.inslide.com/guide.htm
Phone: (262) 245-6916
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