Lake Harriet

Saw a half dozen traps on the ice yesterday afternoon. Any reports on fish activity. Torn between Harriet or heading up to Forest this weekend.

i was out today from 730 till 930 am and didnt mark a fish let alone have one nibble and i used to do real good here.i had my son and he hadda poop so we hadda leave or i would have stayed longer i cut multiple holes and like i said marked no fish from 7 to 15 ft

Were you on the north end? I was out from the south beach. I marked fish with no takers. I was in 25′ and had a huge mark at about 15′. I pulled my spoon up and before I set the hook it was game on. After fifteen minutes and 4 passes by the hole I was elbow deep squeezing a 45″ muskie on the ice. Measured and back down the hole like a banshee. All alone so no pics. Very fun on 6# mono. I thought the line would bust on the ice for sure. Made the day.

That must of been some battle on a short ice rod. Great catch.

yeah i was on the north beach i have always wanted to fish the south side but dont exactly know where to park and with my boy with me cant really go for a long hike.i think there were a lot of weeds down there cause on the az on my vex my bait was bottoming out at like 1 1/2 ft off the bottom so i’d have to be like 2 ft off the bottom.i know harriet is choked out with milfoil but man was that wierd.

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yeah i was on the north beach i have always wanted to fish the south side but dont exactly know where to park and with my boy with me cant really go for a long hike.i think there were a lot of weeds down there cause on the az on my vex my bait was bottoming out at like 1 1/2 ft off the bottom so i’d have to be like 2 ft off the bottom.i know harriet is choked out with milfoil but man was that wierd.

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You’ll have the same thing if you’re on a steep break.

yeah but i dont think i was since the depth didnt move to much.the closest to shore was 7 ft and i set up in 12 ft and there was a good deal of space between so it was sloapping off at normal rate

Planing on heading that way this weekend and have never fished it before. What do you guys target the most on the lake {walleye,perch,crappie, ect…} what baits seem to work the best, when also what “general” area do you fish.

Thanks, Kruger

Harriet can be tricky no matter what you are chasing. The muskies are an ever present factor that tend to hang around most of the good walleye spots and shut the bite down in a hurry. They are a blast when you can get them to hit a lure, more often they just keep cruising around, and come take a look up into your ice hole or at your transducer from time to time.

The north-end crappie action has long passed its prime. The fish finally grew to decent size and the word got out and the fish got hammered. There are still plenty of crappies on the north side if you poke around the weeds long enough, but most are small. Other areas of the lake still put out some nicer crappies, but you will work to find the schools.

Walleyes I had been doing fair on fish the last few winters in 19′-25′ of water on deeper shelfs away from the weeds. The weeds have not been producing in the winter as they were in years previous to a few years ago… maybe the fishermen are pushing them out?

The south side of the lake has several very good spots. It is a walk to reach these areas, or you can brave a stairway with your equipment for a shorter walk. The area near the SE beach is well known to put out a few eyes, more numbers than size. The SW fishing dock area has been hot in a couple key locations the last couple winters… and the 2 giant wed bars creating most the structure on the south shoreline always have a few billion perch roaming near them that pull in some big walleyes and muskies. If you can find the walleyes you can be successful. They are usually in 20′-30′, but I have hit them on shallow tip ups, and also over much deeper water.