Island Lake fishing: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye

Target species: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Rock Bass, Green Sunfish
Boat: 1 ramp or launch on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Island Lake Public Water Access Site, 1 lane.

The lake

Island Lake covers 352 acres in Minnesota, across Cass County. It is a lake: 94.6% of it is 33 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 45 feet (13.7 m). Our records hold 11 species for this water.

7 target fish, led by Northern Pike

  • Northern Pike — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Walleye — Feeding water: 50–75°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Green Sunfish — Feeding water: 65–80°F.

Also recorded here: Pumpkinseed, Bowfin, Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead.

Black bear on the shore of Floating Island Lake (54534167704).jpg
YellowstoneNPS · Public domain

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 45 ft (13.7 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94.6% of the water is 33 feet or shallower. We hold 40 depth contour lines for this water.

  • 0–3 ft: 11.2% of the water
  • 3–6 ft: 7.1% of the water
  • 6–9 ft: 7.2% of the water
  • 9–12 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 12–15 ft: 8.5% of the water
  • 15–18 ft: 7.9% of the water
  • 18–21 ft: 8.1% of the water
  • 21–24 ft: 8.7% of the water
  • 24–27 ft: 12.2% of the water
  • 27–30 ft: 8.9% of the water
  • 30–33 ft: 6.9% of the water
  • 33–36 ft: 5.5% of the water

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 70°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. The coldest single reading we hold is 54°F and the warmest is 77°F; the warmest monthly average is 74°F. pH averages 8.2. These readings span 2019–2025.

Black bear walks along Floating Island Lake (54533983211).jpg
YellowstoneNPS · Public domain

1 ramp or launch on this water

On this water we hold 1 trailer ramp.

  • Island Lake Public Water Access Site — 1 lane. DNR Division of Parks and Trails.

The place listed has no fee or opening hours on file: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

Floating Island Lake (51528626085).jpg
YellowstoneNPS · Public domain

What is hard here

Only 1 public ramp is on file, so the launch decides where you fish.

Where this data comes from

  • Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Minnesota DNR — Minnesota DNR: reported depths: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.
  • EPA NLA — EPA National Lakes Assessment: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map, 2007.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.