Fishing at Harness Lake, Lake County, Minnesota

• Overview

  Harness Lake is a Lake County water, in Minnesota. Everything around it is pine and birch. It covers about 8 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Our Lake County list holds plenty of bigger water. The nearest place of any size is Ely, 37 miles away. Grand Marais lies 42 miles off, Babbitt another 46 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Harness Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. This is a lake, so the margins and the first drop matter most. Public occurrence data for Lake County names white sucker, yellow perch, northern pike, rainbow trout and walleye. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. On Harness Lake the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 64°F in July and bottom out at 4°F in January. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from late April. Open water usually runs from late April until about mid November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Time your trip to Harness Lake by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. A camping area sits within 130 yards of here. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Loki Lake sits 0.3 miles off and takes the overflow. Nothing on Harness Lake should be assumed from this page alone.