Harvey Lake in Oakland County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  The Oakland County end of Michigan holds Harvey Lake. What surrounds it is lake country bush. It runs to roughly 28 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. The closest town, Milford, is 4.1 miles distant. Wolverine Lake is 9.6 miles away, with Wixom at 9.6 miles. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Harvey Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Public occurrence data for Oakland County names bluegill, black crappie, largemouth bass and yellow perch. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. The near bank of Harvey Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 22°F in January to roughly 71°F in July. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Ice is part of the season here, ending near early April. The open-water window runs from around early April to about mid December in an average year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Harvey Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. A boat ramp sits half a mile away, so trailered boats can get on. Parking sits half a mile out, which makes for a walk with tackle. There is a pier recorded roughly half a mile away. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. For a change of water, Alderman Lake is 0.5 miles distant. Nothing here settles the position at Harvey Lake for certain.