Island

Island Lake is in ecological lake class 34 and is located 7 miles northeast of Deer River, MN, in the Mississippi River Watershed. The lake is 256 acres and has a maximum depth of 31 feet. A survey targeting nearshore fish species was conducted by Area fisheries staff beginning on 28 June, 2024. Ten sampling sites (100 feet long) were evenly spaced around the lake shore, sampling a variety of habitat types. Each site is sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 15-ft or 50-ft 1/8th inch mesh seine, depending on habitat condition. Shoreline seining was conducted at 5 sites using the 15-ft seine and one by the 50-ft seine. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 10 sites. Nearshore sampling captured 13 different species: 10 species by seining and 11 species by backpack electrofishing. The species can be found in the gear-specific catch tables in this report. Nearshore catches will be used with the gill net and trap net data from the standard survey conducted on 24 June, 2024, to calculate a fish-based Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI) score which is indicative of lake health. The surveys will assist the watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Island Lake is a small lake located in central Itasca County about seven miles northeast of Deer River, within the Chippewa National Forest and the Mississippi River watershed. The lake has bog-stained water and water clarity was 6.5 feet in the recent survey. Emergent and floating leaf aquatic plants are common. Island Lake is in ecological lake class 34. Other area lakes in this class include Dixon and Dunbar. Island Lake has a history of producing quality Bluegill and Black Crappie fisheries, and they are considered the primary management species. The 2022 lake management plan (LMP) has a goal of providing high quality angling opportunities for Bluegill and Black Crappie. Spring targeted surveys were conducted in 2014, 2017 and 2021 to assess these panfish populations. These surveys are summarized in other reports. A 5-fish daily bag limit for sunfish was implemented in the spring of 2021 to help protect the high-quality population. Walleye are occasionally caught and they have been considered a secondary management species. Recent management had included annual fry stocking with a goal to provide bonus Walleye angling opportunities. A standard lake survey was conducted in June 2024 to evaluate the Walleye stocking plan and update information on the fishery. Gill-net catches for Walleye in Island Lake have typically been low compared to similar lakes. Only two Walleye were captured in the gill nets in 2024, which was the lowest catch on record. Continued low catches confirm the lake is a poor candidate for Walleye management and stocking will be discontinued. Island Lake has typically produced moderate to high numbers of Northern Pike with poor to fair size structure. High pike densities are often associated with poor size quality and slow growth and are generally undesirable. The 2024 gill-net catch was well above average for the lake and lakes with similar habitat. As expected, size structure was poor. Sampled pike varied from 15.4 to 33.5 inches with an average length of 20.0 inches. Only one pike exceeded 28 inches. Ages 2-6 were represented with ages 2 and 3 the most common. Northern Pike averaged 21.4 inches after four years of growth. Yellow Perch gill-net catches have varied considerably in Island Lake but have always been high compared to other class 34 lakes. The 2024 catch rate was above the lake class expected range but fairly typical for Island. Sampled perch ranged from 5.2 to 10.2 inches with an average length of 6.4 inches. Yellow Perch in Island Lake were generally too small to interest anglers and only one perch exceeded 10 inches. Like many northern Minnesota lakes, net catches for Black Crappie on Island have fluctuated between surveys. The 2024 gill-net catch was above average for Island and lakes with similar habitat. Size structure was good as crappie ranged from 7.9 to 12.0 inches and averaged 9.4 inches. Over 30% of Black Crappie exceeded 10 inches. The management objective for size structure was met. Growth was moderate with fish averaging 9.4 inches at age 5. The Black Crappie population has been better evaluated with spring targeted surveys. Those surveys have also shown a favorable size structure. Summer trap-net catches for Bluegill have generally been low compared to similar lakes. The 2024 catch rate was about average for Island Lake. As in previous assessments, size structure of Bluegill was good. Sampled fish ranged from 6.4 to 10.4 inches and averaged 7.5 inches. Over 30% of Bluegill exceeded 8 inches. The LMP objective for size structure was met. Growth appeared fast with Bluegill averaging 8.0 inches at age 5. Spring targeted surveys have provided better sample sizes for assessing the Bluegill population and will be used in the future to evaluate the 5-fish daily bag limit regulation. Other species sampled included Black Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, Bowfin, Hybrid Sunfish, Pumpkinseed and White Sucker.

Minnesota DNR Fisheries IBI program staff conducted an assessment of lakeshore habitat on Island Lake on June 18, 2024, following the Score the Shore survey protocols. The assessment consisted of 43 survey sites evenly spaced 200 meters around the lake. Assessments were made in three habitat zones: the shoreline zone (i.e., the shore-water interface to the top of the natural bank), the shoreland zone (i.e., land-ward from shoreline to developed structure or 100 feet), and the aquatic zone (i.e., lake-ward 50 feet from the shoreline). The average lakewide habitat score was 91.0 (+/- 1.3) out of 100 possible. A score of 91.0 indicates the lakewide shoreline condition is high (i.e., 85-91.9). Approximately 9 percent of the sites were developed, with a mean score of 80.0 (+/- 9.1) indicating shoreline habitat quality of developed sites is moderately high (i.e., 80-84.9), while undeveloped sites had a mean score of 92.1 (+/- 1.0) with excellent (i.e., 92+) habitat quality.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Black Crappie, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Walleye, and Northern Pike 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 31 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Island is from 2024.

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.