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Lake Overview
The Harris Chain lakes are extremely fertile and
contain mostly dark stained 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, but you take
your chances of breaking off a nice fish.
There are generally two
separate distinct patterns to Harris Chain bass fishing; main lake fish and canal
fish. The seasons and the weather dictate which pattern is best for
a particular time. As a rule if one doesn't produce, the other
does.
The following maps and information will
provide you with a basic overview of the Harris Chain of Lakes. Clicking on the small map pictures
will display a larger map.
Big and Little Lake Harris
Big Lake
Harris is just what it's name implies, Big. At over 15,500 acres,
Big and Little Lake Harris combined are among the largest lakes in
Florida. Big Lake Harris' average depth is much greater than Lake Okeechobee to the south with many
deep holes and ledges. The lake is surrounded by beautiful hills and cypress trees.
This is the part of Florida some Orlando residents call "The Mountains". Local humor to be sure, but compared to the
rest of Florida which is flat as a pancake, it is very hilly.
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. These areas also
offer a good place to fish during inclement 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.
Until recently, water skiers and jet
skiers have mostly avoided these lakes. In the last 10 years, the
lakes have cleaning up considerably bringing more boating activity.
Still, it's a fraction of the traffic found on most Orlando lakes.
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.
The East Lakes
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 seems to hold bigger fish than the rest
of the 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 and pitching the boat docks and reeds but local anglers
have placed brush piles in these lakes and many tournaments are won by
fishing these "secret" holes.
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 into 2008. The water authorities also opened navigable entrances into
two of the large restored marsh areas. Fishing in these revitalized
marshes 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 long-range plan to bring back the
outstanding fishing that this lake was once known for.
At this
time. 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.
In 2008,
water authorities began a plowing project around Lake Apopka to turn over
thousands of acres of former farm land, burying most of the pesticides and
exposing new lake bottom. Flooding of the former farms is planned
upon completion.
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