Share your catch
US

Harlan County Lake Fishing Report

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

Harlan County Lake: a 13,250-acre Corps reservoir on the Republican River that Nebraska's 2026 forecast names for white bass, wipers and crappie.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Water temp
~55 F est.
Air / High
80 / 81 F
Wind
S 21 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.

Harlan County Lake feels the season turning: shorter days, grouping fish. Today brings cloud cover, wind S around 21 mph, falling pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 81. Water sits around 55 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 10:14 AM-12:14 PM and 10:43 PM-12:43 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

White bassGood

The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55Β°F.

CrappieGood

Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Hybrid striped bassGood

In spring, windblown shorelines, riprap and dams during the shad spawn (May in Oklahoma); in fall, the pre-winter feed on the same kind of banks.

Tomorrow: Cooler at 70 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

Nebraska requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $41.00 for residents. What a Nebraska licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing white bass here? Check the size and bag limits with NGPC before you keep anything. The season dates for Nebraska, read off the agency, are on the Nebraska 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.

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp80 F
High / Low81 / 60 F
WindS 21-32 mph
Pressure1009.9 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain60% cloud, 3%
Sunrise / Sunset07:56 / 18:46
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~55 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 Harlan County Lake this week

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

Best day this week: today, Oct 23 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Good

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

Solunar majors
10:14 AM-12:14 PM and 10:43 PM-12:43 AM
Minor period
4:37 AM-5:37 AM
Sun
07:56 to 18:46
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 22 mph
Rain chance
3%

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

Species guide

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

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. The spring run happens in this band: tributaries, shoals and the upper ends of reservoirs as the water reaches about 55Β°F.

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. Pre-spawn fish move toward shallow coves, and Iowa DNR points to wading as an effective way to reach them in spring; minnows or small jigs under a float.

Hybrid striped bass illustration

Hybrid striped bass

Best: the spring shad spawn and fall; summer at dawn and dusk

A hatchery cross of striped bass and white bass, also called wiper or palmetto bass, stocked by state agencies into reservoirs and rivers as a sport fish that also eats gizzard shad. Schools roam open water after shad. In spring, windblown shorelines, riprap and dams during the shad spawn (May in Oklahoma); in fall, the pre-winter feed on the same kind of banks.

When to come: the Harlan County Lake 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
White bass
Crappie
Hybrid striped bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 55 F (estimated, not a reading).

304050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~55 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 Harlan County Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. White bass led the card at fair. High of 79 F, wind to 19 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. White bass led the card at fair. High of 76 F, wind to 10 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. White bass led the card at good. High of 73 F, wind to 14 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used if we need to ask you about your report. No mailing list, no spam.

Before you go

License

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

Regulations

Nebraska fishing permit. Check the Nebraska Game and Parks 2026 Fishing Guide for current limits; no Harlan-specific limits were verified for this page.

Access

The Corps manages six parks with campsites, beaches, boat ramps, a fish cleaning station and picnic grounds. Recreation.gov lists Hunter Cove and Methodist Cove campgrounds and the Gremlin Cove and High Point shelters, plus Patterson Harbor Marina and North Shore Marina. Corps project office: 70788 Corps Road A, Republican City (308-799-2105).

About this water

A 13,250-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir on the Republican River, Harlan County, Nebraska; top of multipurpose pool 1,945.73 feet.

Fishing Harlan County Lake: the full guide

A Corps flood-control and irrigation lake

The Kansas City District of the Corps manages the 13,250-acre lake and 17,750 acres of surrounding land, and the dam controls a 7,164-square-mile drainage. Congress allocated storage for flood control and irrigation: the multipurpose pool tops out at 1,945.73 feet and about 314,000 acre-feet, 150,000 acre-feet of it dedicated to irrigation, and Reclamation coordinates the irrigation releases. The Corps listing on Recreation.gov calls it Nebraska's second largest lake.

The 2026 forecast

Nebraska Game and Parks' 2026 Fishing Forecast names Harlan among the reservoirs that will be particularly good for white bass over 12 inches and among those to target for white bass over 15 inches. It says Harlan again will have numbers of wipers and lists it among the other good crappie waters this year. Harlan is not among the reservoirs the forecast singles out for walleye.

Water levels

The Corps notes that irrigation drawdowns can affect recreation and that releases are not set for tubing, canoeing or fishing in the stilling basin. Its page reports the lowest inflows since 2006 and, for 2025, about 100,000 acre-feet available to irrigators against a 150,000 maximum, with irrigation releases ending if the pool fell to 1,929.3 feet.

Common questions

What does the 2026 forecast say about Harlan?

Nebraska Game and Parks expects good white bass, including fish over 12 and over 15 inches, numbers of wipers, and good crappie. It does not list Harlan among its top walleye waters for 2026.

Can low water affect a trip?

Yes. The Corps says irrigation drawdowns can hurt recreation and reports the lowest inflows since 2006. Check the Corps lake data before towing.

Where can I camp?

Recreation.gov lists Corps campgrounds at Hunter Cove and Methodist Cove, and group shelters at Gremlin Cove and High Point.

Is fishing good at Harlan County Lake 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

Glen Elder Reservoir67 miSherman Reservoir88 miWilson Lake91 miCedar Bluff Reservoir92 miEnders Reservoir118 miKanopolis Lake123 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 40.0700, -99.3500 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 8, 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 8, 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.