The Harris Chain of Lakes is a large chain of lakes comprised of 8 primary lakes. This chain of lakes covers about 75,000 acres. With more than 30 public boat ramps, plenty of services and excellent fishing for largemouth bass and panfish, this is a popular area to visit in Central Florida.
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.
Lake Harris
Lake Harris has been and continues to be one of the most consistent lakes to fish on the Harris Chain of Lakes. This is a big lake that covers more than 15,000 acres. The lake has good numbers of bass with lots of big bass, which makes it a popular location for major bass fishing tournaments.
Lake Griffin
Lake Griffin is the 2nd largest lake in the chain as it covers more than 9,000 acres. It has been known as a solid crappie lake over the years, however, the expansion of submerged vegetation has greatly helped the largemouth bass fishery improve. Many anglers do report good bass fishing on this lake now and as a result, it is seeing more bass anglers interested in fishing the lake. There are still good numbers of crappie in the lake for those who want to target them.
Lake Eustis
Lake Eustis is another large lake in the chain. It covers more than 7,700 acres. It is a solid lake that gets plenty of attention from anglers. The lake has good numbers of largemouth bass with plenty of big bass too.
Lake Dora
Lake Dora covers more than 4,300 acres, so it is still a good-sized lake and it has been a very consistent largemouth bass and crappie lake over the years. Anglers catch good numbers of 2 to 3 pound bass with big bass available too. Crappie fishing has been solid, however, with the expansion of new vegetation, the bass fishery seems to be improving while the crappie seem to be taking a hit for total numbers.
Lake Yale
Lake Yale is just over 4,000 acres and it is another quality fishing lake in the Harris Chain of Lakes. The lake has a lot of offshore structure and it is known for being a good numbers lake with some big bass potential too.
Little Lake Harris
Little Lake Harris is really an extension of Lake Harris, so even though it is less than 3,000 total acres, plenty of big fish are caught here due to the fact that so many big can easily move into this lake via Lake Harris. Many anglers report nice catches of very big bass from this lake.
Lake Beauclair
Lake Beauclair covers just over 1,100 acres, but it is a solid bass lake with good numbers and quality fish available. For anglers looking to catch some nice bass, but don’t want to deal with bigger water, this is a nice lake to fish.
Lake Carlton
Lake Carlton is a smaller lake on the Harris Chain of Lakes. It is a small lake, but it still produces some nice-sized bass and good numbers of bass.
Lake Apopka
Many anglers have avoided Lake Apopka over the years due to it being a more difficult lake to put bass in the boat compared to other lakes on the chain. However, there are plenty of anglers who fish it regularly now and there have been some nice reports that come out of the lake. Big bass are definitely available while some of the other lakes may be more consistent for putting more numbers in the boat.
