Harley Lake Fishing near Bemidji, Minnesota

• Overview

  The Beltrami County end of Minnesota holds Harley Lake. The bank gives way to pine and birch. The water covers some 57 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. Bank access stretches around 1.6 miles in total. Bemidji sits 7.5 miles from the bank. Bagley is 17 miles and Little Rock 24 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Harley Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Reported across Beltrami County: walleye, yellow perch and northern pike. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. The shape of Harley Lake rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 67°F and January at 4°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The open season starts with the thaw, near enough mid April. From about mid April to around mid November, expect open water on the long-run figures. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Plan around that when you fish Harley Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. State or provincial rules still apply whatever the bank status. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Grant Lake, 2.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. None of that is settled for Harley Lake in what we hold.