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Lake
Harris Chain of Lakes
 The
nine lakes of the Harris Chain total
approximately 76,000 acres. Twenty years ago
these lakes hosted numerous national bass
tournaments including the B.A.S.S. Megabucks and
of lately the BassMaster Elite Series tournament
trail.
Knowledgeable local
anglers and fishing guides produce excellent catches of bass on a
regular basis. Many local clubs have conducted a
weekly or monthly tournament on the Harris Chain
many years. Analysis records over the last five years show that the Harris
Chain of Lakes to be very productive, producing 5
fish tournament limits of over 20 pounds on a
regular basis. Many times, Nine, ten and 11 pound bass
regularly anchor these catches. In 2008,
our guides are more consistent year around on
this chain then ever before.
In the early nineties,
Florida Fish & Game implemented a five bass
14" daily limit
that went a long way to improving the overall
success of the Harris Chain for Florida bass
anglers. Catch and release caught on with
anglers and guides all over Florida since 2001, after a severe
drought created an artificial draw down that
re-grew miles of eelgrass, pads and shoreline
cover. During the drought, game officials and
local residents also replanted acres of
beneficial reeds in large areas of the Chain.
Water levels have now returned to normal and the
Chain is producing good numbers of bass. Many
10 and 11 pound fish are caught each spring
along with an occasional giant in the 12 to 13
pound range.
The Harris Chain lakes are extremely fertile and contain mostly stained
green color water. The primary cover is
Kissimmee grass, eel grass, lily pads, reeds and
bulrushes. There is some very clear water, but
it is limited to the backs of residential canals
and in the spring creeks that feed the lakes.
If you are fond of fishing
light tackle in crystal clear water, you will
have quite a shock in these waters. These are
big fish lakes with strong healthy bass,
requiring stout tackle and power
techniques. Finesse tactics work well in these
lakes and canals, as always you take your
chances of breaking off a nice fish when using
lite tackle.
There are generally the same
pattern on this chain of lakes as any other in
Florida, two main distinct patterns to Harris
Chain bass fishing is open water main lake
fishing and canal fishing. The other two popular
ways of fishing is deep holes and site fishing.
The seasons and the weather dictate which
pattern is best for a particular time. Word of
advise, if your not around them, go find them.
They generally in groups on this chain of lakes.
Big and Little Lake Harris
Big Lake Harris is the
bigger of the two main lakes of this chain of
lakes at over 15,500 acres. Big Lake Harris
average depth is much deeper than
Lake Okeechobee
to the south and has with many deep holes and
ledges. The lakes are surrounded by beautiful
homes and cypress trees.
There are three public
launching ramps on Big Lake Harris; off of US
Highway 27 to the west, Venetian Gardens in
Leesburg and Hickory Point near the Howey bridge
off State Road 19. There is a small but
serviceable ramp located on the east side of
Little Lake Harris in the City of Astatula.
The lakes are almost totally
ringed with Kissimmee grass and reeds except for
the occasional boat dock or seawall. The depth
in the grass normally ranges from 2-5 feet. The
bottom is mostly hard sand except for some
shallow marshy areas where the bottom is soft
mud. Excellent bass fishing can be found in the
Ninth Street canals and in the Dead River areas.
These two locations offer a good place to fish
during bad weather.
Unknown to most anglers is a
deep ditch that runs along the south shore of
Big Lake Harris in Yalaha. This ditch which
averages about 15-17 feet in depth, was created
by a clay mining operation many years ago. The
ditch has hard bottom and many shell bars along
it's sides. Numerous large bass are caught each
year by trolling and casting deep running crank
baits near this structure.
Water skiers and jet skiers
have mostly avoided these lakes as most of the
larger lakes in Florida. In the last 10 years,
the lakes have cleaning up considerably, which
also has started to bring more boating activity.
Still, it's a fraction of the traffic found on
most Orlando lakes like Lake Toho of the
Kissimmee Chain.
Lake Eustis
 Lake
Eustis covers 7,806 acres and is connected to
Big Lake Harris through the mile long Dead River
and Lake Griffin through Haines Creek. Both
Haines Creek and the Dead River have excellent
fishing in season. Surrounding Lake Eustis are
numerous residential canals which at certain
times of the year can be very productive. It is
also the home of the famous "Gator Hole", a deep
sink hole at the end of a natural canal leading
off the main lake. This hole produces scores
of bass and can produce the fish of a lifetime
if you are there at the right time. For most
of the year the canals produce the most
consistent action in Lake Eustis.
There are two public boat
ramps on Lake Eustis.
The popular Buzzard Beach ramp is located
between Tavares and Leesburg on State Road 441.
The Eustis city ramp is located on Lakeshore
Drive just south of the City of Eustis.
 Together,
the East Harris Chain lakes; Dora,
Beauclair and
Lake Carlton cover 4,475 acres. They are
connected to Lake Eustis on the north through
the Dora Canal and to Lake Apopka to the South
through the Apopka Beauclair Canal. During the
recent drought, Game Officials and local anglers
planted a considerable amount of new reeds in
these lakes. These reeds are now flooded and
have begun to fill in the shore line.
Lake Dora is traditionally
the first to turn on in the spring and does hold
bigger fish at times than the rest of the
Harris Chain of
lakes. Again, Kissimmee grass, reeds and
bulrushes are the predominate cover. The boat
docks in this lake, especially along the north
shore can be very productive during the middle
of the day.
South of Lake Dora is
Lake Beauclair
and tiny Lake Carlton. Lake Carlton can be
reached through a small inlet on the southern
shore of Lake Beauclair. Both of these lakes are
known for giant bass. Most of the big fish are
caught by flipping, pitching and using wild
shiners on the boat docks and reeds. Many local
and professional anglers have placed brush piles
in these lakes.
The Apopka Beauclair Canal
system is a sizable area of clear water that
holds bass year round. The entrance to these
canals is located near the southwestern shore of
Lake Beauclair. There is a lot of water to
be fished and it is all excellent at times. The
so-called "Clear Canal" is located here, which
is a major sight fishing area in the bedding
season. Many tournaments have been won in this
area for those willing to make the long run.
There are three public boat
ramps on the East Harris Chain lakes; two on
Lake Dora and one in the Town of Lake Jem. The
Lake Jem ramp is on the Apopka Beauclair canal.
Lake Griffin
 Lake
Griffin is the last lake in the Harris Chain.
Water flows into the Lake through Haines Creek
and exits into the Ocklawaha River flowing north
through the Ocala National Forest as it winds
towards the St. Johns River and out to the
Atlantic Ocean at Jacksonville. Until the late
eighties, Lake Griffin was one of the best bass
fisheries in the State. A host of problems
contributed to the collapse of the fishery
around 1990. A major contributor being the over
application of herbicides which killed all of
the offshore cover. Bass fishing remained poor
until consecutive droughts lowered lake levels
and allowed new weed growth to take hold. In
addition, restoration efforts in the form of
shad removal and run-off controls are starting
to have a healing effect on the lake.
An additional benefit
occurred in 2007 when the some of the small
lakes near the Orlando airport were filled in
because birds were interfering with air
traffic. Some of these lakes had never been
fished and contained many large bass. Dr.
Canfield, a Professor at the University of
Florida, was instrumental in convincing the
authorities to relocate these bass to Lake
Griffin. Two of these bass were reported to be
in the 14 pound range.
At the same time, an
agreement was finally reached with waterfront
home owners to allow the State and Local
Government to dredge the canals. The dredging
began in early 2007 and will continue until
2008. The water authorities also opened a
navigable entrance into the Emeralda Marsh,
which has produced a number of local and
national tournament bags.
At this time, good catches of
bass are occurring as eel grass, Kissimmee grass
and hydrilla return. The water quality has
greatly improved and we expect the lake to be an
excellent fishery as restoration efforts
continue. To learn more about Harris Chain
restoration, click here to view the
Harris Chain Restoration Council's website.
Lake Apopka
At this time, Lake Apopka continues to be under
restoration. The State of Florida has spent over
100 million dollars to buy out most of the farms
around Lake Apopka and is currently working on a
10 year plan to bring back the outstanding
fishing that this lake was once known for.
Bass fishing is mostly
limited to the Gourd Neck Springs area. This
spring pumps huge amounts of clear water into
the lake and has produced many giant bass caught
mostly by flipping the nearby grass.
View Harris Chain of Lakes in a larger map
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