Island

Island Lake is a 44-acre lake with a maximum depth of 58 feet located 10 miles southwest of the village of Zerkel in Clearwater County. Rules specific to designated trout lakes can be found in the regulation book.The lake is located south of HWY 200 off of the Height of Land Forest Road. There is a DNR public water access with an earthen ramp and parking for approximately 2 vehicles/trailers. The access road is narrow and is not suitable for larger boats. Winter access may be difficult and require a snowmobile or utility vehicle. Island is a designated stream trout lake managed for Rainbow Trout so a trout stamp is required for most anglers that want to fish on the lake. The lake is stocked with 2,000 catchable-size Rainbow Trout annually.Rules specific to designated trout lakes can be found in the regulation book. Island Lake has been managed as a stream trout lake since the 1970s and has a history of producing quality trout fishing throughout much of that time. In the early 2000s, Island Lake became overrun with Green Sunfish. They were soon utilizing most of the forage resources in the lake and started to outcompete stocked Rainbow Trout. As a result the lake's stocking strategies have been changed from "put and grow" where small trout are stocked and grow to acceptable sizes for anglers in the lake to "put and take" where catchable-size trout are stocked directly from the hatchery. Early results of the new stocking strategy are promising, with catch rates for Rainbow Trout increasing from the previous survey. Rainbow Trout had a good average size of over 14 inches, with fish up to 22 inches in length captured. Reports of good trout fishing in both summer and winter on Island Lake have been received by the Bemidji Area Fisheries Office in recent years. As stated previously Green Sunfish are very abundant in Island Lake. Although a nuisance to trout management, they are readily caught, put up a good fight for their size and are similar to other sunfish species as far as table fare. Green Sunfish over 8 inches in length were captured in this survey.

Island Lake is a 44-acre lake with a maximum depth of 58 feet located 10 miles southwest of the town of Zerkel in Clearwater County. The lake is located south of HWY 200 off of the Height of Land Forest Road. There is a DNR public water access with an earthen ramp and parking for approximately 2 vehicles/trailers. The access road is narrow and may not be suitable for larger boats. Island Lake is managed for Rainbow Trout. The lake has been stocked annually with Rainbow Trout fingerlings as well as yearlings and surplus broodstock from the Lanesboro State Fish Hatchery when available. The Rainbow Trout population of Island Lake was in poor shape when surveyed in 2017. The lake contains high numbers of unwanted Green Sunfish, which have outcompeted stocked Rainbow Trout fingerlings for food resources. As a result the survival and growth of stocked fingerling trout had declined to the point that only one Rainbow Trout was captured in the 2017 survey. In response the 2017 survey results a stocking of surplus yearling Rainbow Trout occurred in late October 2017 and is currently providing good fishing in the winter of 2017-18. A lake reclamation project is being considered for Island Lake but may not be feasible due to the lake's connectivity to several other waterbodies which complicates the project considerably. Management plans are currently being revised and may include the annual stocking of yearling Rainbow Trout if these fish are available from the hatchery system. Brown Trout, which were stocked prior to 2013, are still present in the lake and were captured in decent numbers in the 2017 survey (3.3 fish/gill net). Brown Trout stocking was discontinued due to poor angler success and their potential interference with Rainbow Trout management through predation. Brown Trout captured in the 2017 survey ranged from 18.11 inches to 26.69 inches in length with an average size of 22.53 inches and 4.96 lbs/fish.

Island Lake is a 44 acre lake located five miles southwest of Zerkel in southern Clearwater County. There is an undeveloped public water access located off of the Height of Land Forest Road. Island Lake has been managed as a stream trout lake since 1976. The lake is stocked annually with rainbow and brown trout fingerlings as well as surplus hatchery broodstock of these species when available. Island Lake contains a population of green sunfish that was first documented in 1996. The abundance of this population has reached a level that is likely interfering with stream trout management in the lake through competition for aquatic invertebrates, which are primary forage items for trout, and rainbow trout in particular. The 2006 population assessment catch rate for rainbow trout (26.33 fish/gill net) was the highest recorded for the lake, with good growth and survival evident from the assessment. At that time the increase in green sunfish abundance did not raise concern for the trout fishery. However, the 2012 assessment documented a dramatic decline in rainbow trout catch rates to 0.33 fish/gill net. The few trout that were captured had not exhibited growth since being stocked the previous fall, and no carryover of fish from previous stockings was documented. Conversely, brown trout are utilizing green sunfish as prey and are exhibiting good survival and growth under these conditions. The 2012 brown trout catch rate of 4.0 fish/gill net was the highest recorded for the lake since brown trout were stocked for the first time in 2002. Brown trout ranged in length up to 17.4 inches, with the majority of the catch in the 13-inch to 16-inch length range.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Green Sunfish, and Hybrid Sunfish in Island. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Island. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Island has a maximum depth of 58 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Island is from 2022.

No invasive species are on record for Island in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.