A Day on Harris Lake

Clear Day and Lots of Fun

Clear Day and Lots of Fun

A potential listing had me excited about finally getting out on Harris Lake and seeing what it was all about.  Some clear skies and an open schedule was all I needed to hook up the boat to go check it out:

About the Lake:
534 acres
5.8 miles of shoreline
6.59 acres/owner (lake density)
13.97 owners/miles of shoreline (lake density)
57' max depth
24' avg depth
17' Clarity
Mesotrophic
Drainage

Harris Lake is located in the northwest corner of Vilas County.  Its northern tip is just a 1/2 mile from the Michigan border. It is a remote area, but it's just 7 miles from the WinMan bike trail system, and 11 miles from Manitowish Waters.  Just a little to the east is Presque Isle, which has a hardware store and some places to eat.  For a remote area, it's still pretty convenient.

A blog post on Cousin Phil's family trip to the WinMan Trails is coming soon.

I've always known Harris Lake to be a quality lake.  There is good depth and clarity, it's over 500 acres in size, and it's a Class A musky lake.  There is a small section of state owned land on the southwest shoreline, but even being mostly developed, the location keeps it very quiet and low-key.  For those reasons, it's always been a part of my Top 50 lakes.  

The public boat launch is on the southeast side of the lake.  It's a good thing there isn't much traffic because the launch is right off the road.  There are some busted concrete slabs in the water to keep from getting stuck in the sand and a hole for the trailer to drop into.  It wasn't the easiest launch, but it wasn't bad.  There is no parking lot, so trucks and trailers just park alongside the slightly wider road.  This was no problem as we were the only one at the launch, but it could get pretty tight if there were more than a few trailers there.

Cruising around the lake was fun.  The south end is a big circle where everyone has a long view across the water, but the shoreline may get a little boring for the kayaker looking for more nooks and crannies to explore.  The north end of the lake provides that extra character with an island and a few bays.  There are some very nice homes on the lake - especially on the north end - and some more traditional lake cottages as well.  

The big surprise came when we dropped the secchi disc.  Our site had the clarity at 15.0 (although there were readings up to 21' in the last 10 years) and it was pretty windy out so I didn't expect a very high reading.  However, we saw it down to 17' pretty easily before the boat drifted over the top and we lost sight of it.  So, we'll have to get the site updated with that information.

The fun for the day was getting back on the electric jetboard for the first time in a couple of years and getting to watch Cousin Phil figure out how to ride for the first time.  Besides a fisherman on the north end and a pontoon cruising the shoreline, we basically had the lake to ourselves so it was a perfect opportunity to get back in the groove.  Phil provided a lot of entertainment with one wipe out after the next (see video below).  When I wasn't helping Phil retrieve his board, I was having a lot of fun skimming across the lake and appreciating the quiet lake.

With the growing demand to be near Manitowish Waters and the WinMan Trail system, Harris Lake is sure to become a more popular lake in coming years.  If you think it might be a good lake for you, you can sign up to receive notifications of any new listings on Harris.  You may also contact me at any time to discuss your search criteria.

There are not any homes currently for sale on Harris Lake, but I know of one that might be coming up soon.  You can contact me if you would like more information on it.  Otherwise, I'll update this blog post when I know more.

Happy Browsing!

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