Harkner Flowage, Wisconsin: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  This water sits in Jackson County, Wisconsin. The surface lies 935 feet up. Roughly 53 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The bank runs about 1.7 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. The nearest town is Black River Falls, 15 miles away. For a city, Rochester is 94 miles off. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on Harkner Flowage

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Records held for Jackson County cover brown trout, rainbow trout and common carp. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Read Harkner Flowage for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 70°F on average, January about 12°F. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Once it clears, about early April, the fishing comes on quickly. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early April until roughly early December. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. It sets the rhythm of the year at Harkner Flowage.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Nothing built is recorded close to the bank here. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try Lake 23 15 6, 0.9 miles away. Nothing on Harkner Flowage should be assumed from this page alone.