Harness Lake in Nipissing District: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Harness Lake sits in Nipissing District, out in Ontario. It sits at 430 metres above sea level. With some 76 hectares of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. At about 7.3 km of edge, most people work one arm at a time. Size puts it in the front rank of our Nipissing District list. Haliburton Village is 51 km and Huntsville 57 km. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Harness Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Nipissing District records list smallmouth bass, cisco, yellow perch and pumpkinseed among the fish reported. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. On Harness Lake a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 18°C and January at -12°C. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. Ice-out usually falls in late April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Averages suggest open water from about late April through to roughly late November. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. The season on Harness Lake follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. A campsite is mapped about 150 m away, which makes an early start easier. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Gnat Lake, 1.5 km away, makes the obvious fallback. For Harness Lake in particular, ask before you travel.