7-18-03 - Got on the waters of Lake Geneva in William's Bay after dusk.

The only Smallmouth, but what a fish! 19"!

The 10 Rock Bass that came home for dinner. We're talking serious slab Rock Bass!

7-18-03 - Bait the Rigs and let the melee begin!

Waters Fished: Lake Geneva, WI
Fish Caught: Numerous! I actually did NOT COUNT!
Outing Date: 7-18-03
Weather: Clear
Air Temp: dropped into the upper 50's maybe?
Water Temp: bathwater - 74F or so
Water Level: Normal
Water Color: Clear with floating debr
Fish Species: Smallmouth Bass, Rock Bass, Bluegill
Pattern Fished: BAIT! ACK! Ok, Lindy Rigs, trolling nightcrawlers
Pattern Color: BROWN!
Fishing Quality: TONS OF FUN!

You know...my family has lived literally next door to Lake Geneva for longer than I've been around, and I've NEVER FISHED IT. Well, FAT and I had some things to talk about and we ended up having the best kind of meeting we could...a meeting while fishing!

After some minor surgery on the Bronco, we got on our way and headed to William's Bay. Probably got in the water close to 9:00, and by the time we were set up it was dark! Yes, there was a HUGE caddis hatch after dark...big wings, tiny bodies, all very light cream. They got all over everything...I spit a couple out and squished numerous caddis into my fly-rod's grip etc..

Which brings me to the jist...I tried with the fly rod as long as I could...sink tip line, 15 foot leader, heavily leaded fly (Whitlocks Hare Sculpin) but didn't really have ANY luck at all (unless you count weed clumps). Meanwhile, Rich and the boys manned the rods and did well...Rich happened to pick the right rod and pulled in a BIG SMALLMOUTH (love the irony); 19". A total photo op...we did the best we could with a spotlight and my camera!

Other than one bluegill, the rest of our catch were the numerous and plentiful rock bass. After I gave up the fly rod ('cause I couldn't even see if I was getting good casts) the boy's slept, and FAT and I talked while hauling in rock bass after rock bass. Just TONS of rock bass. I kept 10 for my folks (they really liked the trout, so I thought we'd try these). On our last pass before heading in we actually managed the simultaneous 4-on...all our rods popping at the same time. Talk about FUN! Now...if they had all be smallmouth...talk about a TRUE melee!

Well, I have to come back and even if all I get are Rock Bass...well, they'll just be totally fun on a fly rod (if I can figure out how to do that). Oh, and for you die-hard Geneva Anglers, we trolled crawlers on Lindy Rigs with LOTS of weight at about 1 mph; found our success in about 20 feet of water.

  MP