Lake Harriet fishing: Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Northern Pike

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Walleye, Bluegill, White Sucker, Pumpkinseed
Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep for Largemouth Bass
Second window: Jun, Sep for Muskellunge
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Lake Harriet Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Lake Harriet covers 343 acres in Minnesota, across Hennepin County. It is a lake: 94.1% of it is 60 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 80 feet (24.4 m). Our records hold 14 species for this water.

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 80 ft (24.4 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94.1% of the water is 60 feet or shallower. We hold 23 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–5 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 10.4% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 8.5% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 7.4% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 7.3% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 9% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 8.8% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 7.6% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 8.2% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 5.6% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 3.1% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 1.5% of the water
  • 70–75 ft: 1.3% of the water
  • 75–80 ft: 0.3% of the water

7 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.
  • Muskellunge — Best months: Jun, Sep.
  • Northern Pike — Best months: May, Jun, Sep, Oct.
  • Walleye — Best months: May, Jun, Sep, Oct.
  • Bluegill — Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug.
  • White Sucker — Best months: May, Sep, Oct.
  • Pumpkinseed — Best months: Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep.

Also recorded here: Black Bullhead, Black Crappie, Yellow Perch, Green Sunfish, Yellow Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, Common Carp.

Water and conditions

Water clarity runs 5.9–16 feet on our readings, averaging 10.8 feet, from 274 readings. Water temperature averages 66°F across the year. The coldest single reading we hold is 33°F and the warmest is 81°F; the warmest monthly average is 77°F. pH averages 8.5. These readings span 2016–2025.

Hennepin county MN Lake Harriet IMG 1768 from east.JPG
Bjoertvedt · CC BY-SA 3.0

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Lake Harriet Public Water Access Site — 1 lane, restrooms.

The place listed has no fee or opening hours on file: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

What is hard here

Only 1 public ramp is on file, so the launch decides where you fish. Winter water drops to 34°F, and the warm-water species stop feeding well before you do.

Where this data comes from

  • Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: reported depths: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.