Minnesota · Mahnomen County

Island Lake Fishing guide

Island Lake is a 616-acre lake in Mahnomen County, Minnesota, reaching 43 ft at its deepest point. Secchi readings average around 6.7 ft of visibility. The Minnesota DNR has surveyed the lake 13 times, most recently in 2025, with walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike and bluegill in the nets.

Open the live map → Survey data

Depth to 43 ft · top 5 summer marks

Surface616 ac

Max depth43 ft

Clarity6.7 ft

Littoral54%

Surveyed2025

How to fish Island Lake through the year

Northern pike

Spring: Pike are in the shallow bays and along new weed growth.
Early summer: Pike are on the outside weed edge and points.
Summer: Pike are on the deep weed edge and points near the coolest water they can find. On a lake that drops to 43 ft, check the deep edge of that structure too.
Fall: Pike are on the last green weeds and the breaks beside them, feeding heavily as the water drops.

Walleye

Spring: Walleye are shallow, on and just off the spawning flats and the first green weeds.
Early summer: Walleye are setting up on the outside weed edge, points and shallow structure.
Summer: Walleye are working the weed edge, points and any wind-blown structure. On a lake that drops to 43 ft, check the deep edge of that structure too.
Fall: Walleye are packing onto the sharpest breaks and points as the water cools, in big schools with short windows.

Season patterns for each species. Open the live map for today's wind, light and water temp.

Size history

Biggest fish by survey year

Survey year	Northern pike	Walleye	Largemouth bass
2025	35"	27"	18"
2020	35"	28"	15"
2015	34"	27"	18"
2010	35"	28"	18"
2005	37"	25"	17"
2000	32"	27"	11"
1995	33"	28"	18"

Longest fish measured by DNR survey crews in each year's nets. Survey gear samples the population, so the lake usually holds larger fish than any survey measured.

Suggested tackle

What to bring

Top presentations for this lake's structure and clarity:

Northern pike · Soft plastics

Paddletail Swimbait on Jighead

4–5" paddletail swimbait on a ball-head swimbait jighead

3–25 ftmoderate

Shop paddletail swimbaits →

Northern pike · Muskie & pike

Soft Rubber (Bull Dawg / Medusa)

10" soft rubber body bait

3–25 ftslow

Shop musky rubber →

Walleye · Live bait

Live-Bait (Lindy) Rig + Leech/Crawler

jumbo leech or half a nightcrawler

8–35 ftslow

Shop octopus hooks →

Walleye · Trolling

Leadcore Line + Crankbaits

4–5" mid-diving crankbait behind a long leadcore run

15–45 fttrolling

Shop deep-diving crankbaits →

Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Texas-Rigged Worm

7" ribbon-tail or straight-tail plastic worm

1–25 ftdead slow

Shop plastic worms →

Largemouth bass · Soft plastics

Wacky-Rigged Stickworm

5" stickworm

1–12 ftdead slowweedless

Shop stickworms →

Full setups, including hooks, weights and line, are on the live map. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

DNR stocking records

Stocking history

Year	Species	Stocked
2025	Walleye	45,000 fry · 11,730 fingerlings · 500 yearlings
2023	Walleye	13,445 fingerlings · 672 yearlings
2021	Walleye	3,888 fingerlings · 1,701 adults
2019	Walleye	26,186 fingerlings
2017	Walleye	1,259 fingerlings · 839 yearlings · 879 adults

MN DNR · in their words

From the 2025 survey

Island Lake is a 616-acre, class-25 lake located in northern Mahnomen County within the boundaries of the White Earth Indian Reservation. The lake sits within the North Central Hardwood Forests ecoregion in the upper reaches of the Wild Rice River Watershed. Island Lake has a littoral area of 331 acres and a heavily developed shoreline. There is a public boat access on the east shoreline. Island Lake's fish community has undergone many changes since it was initially surveyed in 1953 including large fluctuations in game and non-game fish species. The MN DNR Detroit Lakes Fisheries Office and the White Earth Natural Resources (WENR) Office work in partnership to stock Walleye fingerlings in odd-numbered years. A standard fisheries survey was completed in July 2025 to assess the fish populations in Island Lake.

Anglers will find a moderate abundance of Northern Pike in Island Lake, with a good opportunity to catch decent fish. The Northern Pike gill net catch rate of 11.6 pike per gill net in 2025 was up from the 8.1 pike per net in the 2020 survey. Size structure was better than other lakes in the Detroit Lakes work area with 50% of pike above 22 inches in length and about 36% of the pike greater than 24 inches. The average length of Northern Pike surveyed in 2025 was 23 inches and the longest was almost 36 inches. Walleye numbers were down with 3.7 Walleye per gill net sampled, which is below the lake's average. Walleye size is good compared to other area lakes. Ninety-four percent of the Walleye captured in 2025 were over 15 inches and 48% were over 20 inches. Walleyes up to almost 28 inches were sampled. Bluegill numbers were at a near record high for the lake. Bluegills of all sizes were observed but tend to run small. Only 1% of the Bluegill caught in trap nets were over eight inches, but the longest Bluegill measured was 10.3 inches. Black Crappie were plentiful in trap nets, however these fish only averaged 8.5 inches. The longest crappie measured was 10.25 inches. Largemouth Bass were captured in low numbers in the trap nets, which is often the case with this sampling gear. One Largemouth Bass almost 19 inches was captured in a gill net. Other fish species sampled were Black and Brown Bullhead, hybrid sunfish, Pumpkinseed, and Rock Bass.

Narrative text from the Minnesota DNR lake survey.

Recent reports

Island Lake fishing reports

Recent reports on Island Lake from guides, tournaments and regular anglers. Anything posted in the last two weeks also bumps the matching spots on the live map, so you'll see a "matches a recent report" tag on them.

Open the live map → Fished it lately? Write a report

Mahnomen County reports

Public water access

Getting on the water

Island Lake (trailer launch)

DNR bathymetry

Island Lake depth map

Island Lake depth contour map, Mahnomen County, Minnesota — Depth contours to 43 ft from Minnesota DNR bathymetry, free to save or print. The live map adds ranked spots and conditions on the same contours.

Within 30 miles

Nearby lakes

Spring Lake · 134 ac · 4.2 mi
Sand Hill Lake · 479 ac · 5.8 mi
Poplar Lake · 91 ac · 6.6 mi
Little Vanose Lake · 143 ac · 7.1 mi
Whitefish Lake · 243 ac · 9.4 mi
Minnow Lake · 110 ac · 10 mi
Roy Lake · 695 ac · 10.2 mi
Turtle Lake · 525 ac · 11.4 mi

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How deep is Island Lake?

Island Lake reaches 43 ft at its deepest point; about 54% of the lake is littoral (15 ft or shallower).

How big is Island Lake?

Island Lake covers 616 acres with about 9.4 miles of shoreline.

How clear is the water in Island Lake?

DNR Secchi readings on Island Lake average 6.7 ft of visibility, middling clarity for a Minnesota lake.

What fish are in Island Lake?

Minnesota DNR surveys (most recently 2025) record walleye, largemouth bass, northern pike, bluegill, crappie, yellow perch, rock bass.

Is Island Lake stocked?

Yes. The DNR stocked walleye in 2025; the stocking table on this page lists every year back to 2017.

Does Island Lake have a public access?

Yes. Island Lake has one public access site: Island Lake (trailer launch).

How big do northern pike get in Island Lake?

The biggest northern pike measured in recent DNR surveys taped 35"; the size-history table on this page tracks the biggest fish in each survey back to 1995.

When was Island Lake last surveyed?

The Minnesota DNR last surveyed Island Lake in 2025, the most recent of 13 surveys on record.

Page updated September 22, 2026.

The live map adds today's conditions and ranked spots for Island Lake, plus a trip plan you can share:

Open Island Lake on the live map → Fished it lately? Write a report