Camping and trout fishing at Lake Harriet, Oregon

John's friend Joe plans an annual guys camping trip near Lake Harriet every year around the trout stocking schedule. This years trip fell in the middle of April and John invited me to join them.

Lake Harriet is a 22 acre reservoir on the Oak Grove Fork of the Clackamas River. It is located about 47 miles Southeast of Portland. There is a campground on the East end (upriver end) hosting 11 primitive sites.

John and I went up Thursday night. After setting up camp in a spot along the road downstream from Lake Harriet, we walked to the lake to see how the fishing was. Lake Harriet had a lot more plant life in it than I remember the last time I visited. In any case, the fish were jumping and we managed to catch a few from a shady spot on the North shore.

Joe and Kirk arrived early Friday morning. Luckily we were away. They were eager to go fishing, so we set up to the lake in near freezing temperatures. Unfortunately the trout were not biting and it was so cold our extremities went numb. We headed back to camp with the intention of fishing in the afternoon after it warmed up

Our afternoon fishing trip proved much more fruitful. We caught plenty of trout including a large trophy that Kirk landed. Back at camp we cooked up Kirk's fish and relaxed the rest of the day

We had great weather all weekend despite the cold temperatures in the morning. Usually it rains this time of year, so we considered ourselves extremely lucky.