Another great year on Delavan and Geneva! On Delavan we averaged 42 bass a trip, with 3 60
bass days. Last year we averaged 36 on Delavan. Geneva remained very consistent…averaged
48 bass a trip last year and 48 this year. This year the Geneva bass ran larger, with a lot of larger
bass in the 5 to 10 foot depths. It seemed like the water was a little dingier than normal on
Geneva which may have accounted for the shallower action. Even now (late August) guide
friends are reporting plenty of shallower bigger bass on Geneva.
Had a bunch of fun days fishing with some of my “regulars” this year. Roy and Al Shackleton
always seem to make something happen. In 2016 we caught 103 bass which is my all-time
record. In 2017 we caught 80 which was the record that year. This year we got 41 on Delavan
with Al getting his biggest largemouth ever (over 5 lbs.), then he got his biggest smallie ever on
Geneva which was 20-inches. One of the two brothers also caught the ugliest bass I ever saw. It
looked like you dragged it behind the car for a few miles. Paul Van Moffaert and I also had some
special days. After a 54 bass day on Delavan we nailed 59 on Geneva plus a big musky. A week
later we were joined by his buddy Pete and we got 59 on Geneva; including Pauls biggest ever
smallie, then went to Crandals and sent several chickens to “chicken heaven”.
Kade McDonald was the kid that was with me last year when we caught 69 bass, then as we were
leaving he had a 40-inch musky grab his rock bass. This year Kade his dad and I caught 62 bass
and he caught more that his dad and I. He let us know about it several times during the day.
Payback is great because a week later with his Mom in the boat we caught 71 and his Mom
kicked his butt! Andy Norocki and I had a 60 bass day on Delavan followed by a 57 bass day on
Geneva. Had lot of great days; 64 with Jeff Runge and Ron, 50+ with Jim Bubis, 61 with Mark
Babula. Actually my slowest two days were 25 and 24 bass, which would have been great days
for me 20-30 years ago. I cut down my guide trips but felt better than I did the previous year. The
last day I went out was June 29 with my neighbor Mike and we caught 43. If my health is ok
next year I plan on guiding again. It’s great seeing regular customers get better and better every
year.