Fishing

The fishery within Harrison Lake provides a wealth of diversity for anglers to target. The latest DGIF full community electrofishing survey revealed the presence of 16 fish species. The survey collected largemouth bass, bluegill, bowfin, brown bullhead, yellow bullhead, creek chubsucker, black crappie, American eel, flier sunfish, chain pickerel, pumpkinseed sunfish, gizzard shad, golden shiner, bluespotted sunfish, redear sunfish, and warmouth sunfish. 

Anglers that fish Harrison Lake on a regular basis can figure out the better spots that the bass like to hold. The lake is very shallow and has an abundance of submerged aquatic vegetation growing on the upper third. The shallow flats will mat out with SAV every summer. Anglers should look to find the bass and chain pickerel to be holding on the edges of the grass flats. 

The 2017 small impoundment study conducted on Harrison Lake revealed a large proportion of the bass population to be younger fish in the 5 to 9 inch range. The surveys revealed two strong year classes of juvenile bass making their way through the fishery. Some of these juvenile fish may have been from the supplemental bass stocking that occurred in June of 2016. The largest collected bass weighed 7 pounds, so there are a few larger fish mixed in. Anglers that fish Harrison Lake may be best off trying to fish for a combination of bass, chain pickerel, and bowfin. Being open to the combination of these 3 species might make your day more enjoyable instead of being completed dead set on fishing just for bass. Harrison Lake has the capacity to produce some decent chain pickerel in the 2 pound range. The black crappie population is decent in abundance, but the size structure is based on fish in the 8 to 9 inch range. Harrison Lake is not the most productive system in Region 1, but it is one of the most scenic and peaceful lakes in the region.  

Biologist Reports

• 2020 Harrison Lake Management Report