Right In My Backyard, And I Just Found It....

[hooah212002]

I've lived in Delavan for maybe 6 years and today is only the second time I've fished it and today I only got out for maybe an hour and a half. I was fishing one of the few (very few) places in the entirety of Southern Wisconsin that has decent shore fishing access. It is extremely weedy; my 3/8oz jig barely got a foot down in 5 fow and was merely riding atop the weeds (Siebert or Northstar will be hearing from me soon so i can get some 3/4-1 oz!). Once again, as with the last time I fished this lake, green pumpkin is the color to use.

I can see why pappajoe22 likes this lake so much.

I will also say: holy crap! Fall is here already. It was darn cold this morning.

[MarkH024]

Nice fish man

[hooah212002]

Thanks Mark. The little guy didn't have much fight in him. He splashed when I hooked him, then went into a thick weed patch and I kinda just dragged him the rest of the way to where my gear was about 50 yards away so I could get my pliers. Half the time I thought it was a carp or a bunch of weeds lol. Not sure if that's because I hooked him in the back of his mouth or if he was just a lazy fish.

[UWBass]

Looks like you were fishing right by the launch. Try walking on that little peninsula that seperates the launch bay from the main lake, cast on both sides. In may there are some giants caught from shore there.

Delavan is a great lake-I've caught some pigs there this summer. I like that the lm move deep there-not a lot of lakes you can catch them in 25 ft or even deeper. Fishes like a deep south lake. Flutter spoons, deep cranks, big worms and big jigs, and of course the Dropshot! Boat traffic sucks!

[hooah212002]

Try walking on that little peninsula that seperates the launch bay from the main lake, cast on both sides. In may there are some giants caught from shore there.

That's where I was. The bridge you see in the background is North Shore Drive.

[Siebert Outdoors]

Very nice fish!

[Bankbeater]

Nice bass you caught.

[Big-O]

Very Nice

[hooah212002]

Yet another good day on Delavan. I started off with the same jig/yum chunk and very soon had a bite. Saw him flash, and he was gone. Oh well. I went to the other side (same side as the pic in my OP here) and it wasn't long before I hooked another. He was a little bit smaller than the pic up there and it was raining, so I didn't take a pic. Then the wind picked up blowing right in my face and made things a bit rough.

Then the rain started..... I stayed in the rain for maybe 20-30 minutes and then told myself "3 more casts, then I'm done".

Yea, that didn't happen. I picked up my white/chartreuse cheapie spinnerbait just for the heck of it and had ZERO confidence because I've never caught anything with one before, but figured what the heck, there's a lot of chop from the wind and it's raining so I'll hope for a reaction strike. I started hitting the weed edges on a couple casts, then I tossed under the bridge. Being a bit higher up, the spinnerbait had a tendency to ride high in the water and come to the surface by the time it was ~10 ft. away. I couldn't see under the bridge, but I heard a splash, set the hook and watched the fish swim away. Drat! Lost fish number 2! Then I started back on the weed edge along the boating lane (which runs under the bridge) and hooked into another 1-2 pounder which was my first spinnerbait fish EVER! I made casts for another maybe 15 minutes and caught nothing but raindrops.

Once again, I got cold and wet and my hands started to cramp up, so I decided I was done. I had to walk past the spot I went to first and said to myself: "you're cold, wet and hungry, but you're probably going to walk down there and keep fishing, aren't you?". Who am I to argue with me? Made a few casts and hooked another one that caught me by surprise because I was on the last leg of my retrieve and already thinking about my next cast.

What a great day. 3 fish landed in maybe 2 hours, which should have only been 1 had I left when i said I would, and 2 more "shoulda had 'em" fish.

I will say, the fish on the spinnerbait had A LOT more fight than the fish I've been catching on jigs. I can tell the "killing methods" differ too: jigs have been in the back of the mouth where they crush stuff, and the spinnerbaits were lip hooked. Seeing what you read come to fruition in real life is pretty amazing.

A big thanks to all of you that responded.

[MarkH024]

Way to go man! I'm going to try and sneak out for a bit tomorrow to hit the river for smallie action. I got a bunch of crankbaits and jerkbaits I want to throw out there. I haven't been fishing in a while due to the kids so I'm eager to get out. Hoping the weather moves out before I go. But I'll be throwing the rain gear in my car regardless. You can fish in the rain all day as long as you stay dry.

[papajoe222]

You did better from shore than I did from the boat last week-end. Four hours and a couple of pike were all we had to show for our trip. I may just leave the boat on the trailer and fish from the shore by the launch next time.

Glad to see you putting all the great infor here and elsewhere to good use.

[MarkH024]

Got skunked today for the first time in a long time. Had a fish on early but lost him. Watched another smallie follow my crank to the shore and then bolt. After that nothing. Super windy. Made it a tough day. Oh well.

[hooah212002]

Yea, the wind was brutal this morning. I got a decent little 2-3 pounder that was, once again, after I told myself I was ready to leave.