Black Island Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31041600

Black Island Lake has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.

• Black Island Lake shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of September 2, 2026.
• Maximum depth 59 ft; surface area 117 acres, 72 littoral acres, 2.9 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 11.0 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike, smallmouth bass, yellow perch.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: July 31, 2017 (standard survey).
• Itasca County, nearest town Alder; DNR lake number (DOW) 31041600.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2017

Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.

Black Island Lake is a 107 acre bass-panfish lake located nine miles southeast of Marcell, MN in the Big Fork River watershed and the Chippewa National Forest. The lake's water is fairly clear (11 foot Secchi transparency) with low alkalinity and fertility. Most of the shoreline is owned by the US Forest Service and is in a natural state. The abundant aquatic vegetation provides good habitat for bass and panfish. A standard survey was conducted in mid-summer 2017 to collect updated information on the fishery. The Northern Pike gill-net catch was below the typical range for lakes with similar habitat. Catches were higher in previous surveys. Lower pike catches are often desirable because high pike numbers are associated with slower growth and poor quality size structure. Size structure of the 2017 sample was moderate, with fish ranging from 19.1 to 27.5 inches. Northern Pike averaged 25.0 inches and 3.4 pounds. Too few pike were sampled to provide meaningful age and growth statistics. Catch rates for Black Crappie are more variable than for other species. Crappie often suspend in the water column and are not sampled well by mid-summer netting. The Black Crappie gill-net catch was within the lake class typical range and average for Black Island Lake, while the trap-net catch was below the typical range for similar lakes. Of the few crappie sampled, most were less than eight inches. Bluegill were sampled in numbers similar to previous surveys and within the typical range for this lake class. Lakes like Black Island generally do not produce many large Bluegill. The 2017 sample had a modest size structure; fish ranged from 4.0 to 8.2 inches with a mean length of 6.7 inches. Ages 3 through 8 were represented in the sample, with the majority of fish being age 5 and older. The average length of 5.9 inches at age 6 was above the lake class average (5.2). The Largemouth Bass trap-net catch was well above the historical average and the typical range for similar lakes. Largemouth from the trap nets ranged from 5.2 to 15.9 inches with a mean length of 10.3 inches. No age and growth information was collected but the length-frequency distribution suggested several year-classes were present. Black Island Lake provides angling opportunities for high numbers of small to medium-sized bass. The Smallmouth Bass gill-net catch was typical for Black Island Lake and lakes with similar habitat. Sampled fish ranged from 14.4 to 17.8 inches. The Yellow Perch catch rate was within the lake class normal range and near the historical average for Black Island. Perch ranged from 5.9…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, July 31, 2017.

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