Set amongst the quaint towns of Eustis, Mount Dora, Leesburg, and Tavares is the Harris Chain of Lakes. This chain is a part of the Oklawaha River Basin and includes Lake Eustis (7,806 acres), Lake Harris (15,087 acres), Little Lake Harris (3,359 acres), Lake Dora (4,475 acres), Lake Beauclair (1,140 acres), Lake Griffin (9,327 acres), Lake Yale (4,013 acres) and Lake Carlton (376 acres).
The Harris Chain of lakes are very fertile and the water here is murky. You can find some clearer water in the backs of some residential canals and in the spring creeks that feed the lakes, but otherwise, it is murky water here.
Anglers usually come here for the bass fishing and it is very good here with lots of bass and some huge bass up to and over 10 pounds caught every year. Anglers also target panfish here too with bream and crappie available throughout the chain.
Shiner Fishing for Florida Largemouth Bass
Shiners are the easiest and most common way to catch Florida bass. Most of the guides use them even if they would prefer to be using artificial lures and the reason for this is that live shiners consistently get bit by big bass. For whatever reason, the Florida strain largemouth bass is a lot more difficult to consistently catch with lures than the northern strain largemouth bass, especially the bigger, trophy-sized bass. So most guide services will offer live bait on every trip to make sure their customers have the best chance to consistently catch quality largemouth bass. Learn more about shiner fishing in Florida for largemouth bass.
