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Lake Harris Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake Harris: an Upper Ocklawaha Basin lake in Lake County, Florida, that drains to Lake Eustis through the Dead River.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~74 F est.
Air / High
78 / 79 F
Wind
NNE 13 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Lake Harris sits in the sweet spot of the season: active fish and workable weather. Today brings a mixed sky, wind NNE around 13 mph, steady pressure near 1017 hPa and a high of 79. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:03 AM-12:03 PM and 10:29 PM-12:29 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassExcellent

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

CrappieGood

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassGood

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Tomorrow: Similar at 78 F with a rain chance. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Florida requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $17.00 for residents. What a Florida licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing largemouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with FWC before you keep anything. The season dates for Florida, read off the agency, are on the Florida seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp78 F
High / Low79 / 56 F
WindNNE 13-17 mph
Pressure1016.8 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain50% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:33 / 18:49
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake Harris this week

Today is the pick of the week on Lake Harris, at 4 out of 5.

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, steady pressure, neither help nor hindrance.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
10:03 AM-12:03 PM and 10:29 PM-12:29 AM
Minor period
4:24 AM-5:24 AM
Sun
07:33 to 18:49
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Partly cloudy, 13 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Harris: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

When to come: the Lake Harris calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Harris today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 12 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 82 F, wind to 14 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Largemouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 79 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Florida requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Florida freshwater fishing license. FWC statewide limits (updated July 20, 2026): 5 black bass a day, only one 16 inches or longer, no minimum length for Florida or largemouth bass; 25 crappie; 50 panfish. Lake Harris is not on FWC's list of special bag and length exceptions.

Access

Public boat ramps are run by Lake County and the City of Leesburg; check their park pages for current hours and fees.

About this water

A lake in Lake County, Florida, in the Upper Ocklawaha River Basin; with Little Lake Harris about 18,689 acres (Florida DEP, 2003).

Fishing Lake Harris: the full guide

Lake Harris and Little Lake Harris

Florida DEP places Lakes Harris and Little Lake Harris in the Upper Ocklawaha River Basin, about 30 miles northwest of Orlando. In its 2003 nutrient report DEP gave the two lakes a combined surface area of about 18,689 acres at an elevation of 63 feet, with an average depth of 12 feet.

Connected water

Lake Harris discharges to Lake Eustis through the Dead River. Levels in Lakes Eustis, Harris, Dora and Beauclair are controlled by the Burrel Lock and Dam on Haines Creek, which the St. Johns River Water Management District operates, DEP notes.

Water quality

DEP verified Lake Harris and Little Lake Harris as impaired by nutrients in 2002, along with the Dead River and Helena Run, a tributary, and set a total maximum daily load for phosphorus for the lakes in 2003.

Common questions

What are the bass limits on Lake Harris?

FWC's statewide rule: five black bass a day, only one of which may be 16 inches or longer.

Where does Lake Harris drain?

Through the Dead River into Lake Eustis, Florida DEP says.

Is fishing good at Lake Harris right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Clearwater Lake21 miSt. Johns River31 miSaint Johns River33 miLake Tohopekaliga47 miOrange Lake51 miHomosassa54 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 28.7736, -81.8087 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 7, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 7, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.