Island Lake (Pine County)

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

Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 58006200

DNR records show 25 stocking entries at Island Lake (Pine County) since 2016, most recently muskellunge yearlings in 2025 (17 fish).

• Island Lake (Pine County) has 25 DNR stocking records across 10 years (2016-2025): walleye (17), muskellunge (8).
• The most-stocked species by count is walleye: 50,175 fish on record.
• Maximum depth 42 ft; surface area 527 acres, 267 littoral acres, 7.2 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
• Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 5.6 ft.
• Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, brown bullhead, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, muskellunge, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, walleye, yellow bullhead, and 1 more.
• 1 public access on the DNR list.
• Most recent DNR fish survey: May 6, 2025 (targeted survey).
• Pine County, nearest town Sturgeon Lake; DNR lake number (DOW) 58006200.

Depth map

Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 8/22/1983 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.

Stocking history

² fish purchased by the DNR for stocking.

Public accesses

DNR fish survey, 2025

Island Lake is a 527-acre lake in northern Pine County located three miles south of Moose Lake and is within the Kettle River Watershed. It has a maximum depth of 42 feet and 51 percent of the lake is 15 feet or less (267 acres). Island Lake has three small unnamed inlets with intermittent flows, one of which connects to nearby Little Sand Lake. The lake has one outlet, which connects to nearby Sand Lake. Water clarity is moderate, and ranges from 3 to 7 feet. Sand is the most common substrate along with a few areas of gravel, which results in abundant Bluegill and crappie spawning habitat especially along the east and southeast shorelines. Quantitative aquatic vegetation surveys were conducted in 2009 and 2019. Surveys indicated that Island Lake has a diverse, good quality aquatic plant community. However, Curlyleaf Pondweed is present and is a non-native invasive species. A state administered public access is located at the southwest end of the lake off East Frontage Road (County Hwy 51). The access has a concrete ramp and parking for up to 12 rigs. The shoreline is highly developed with homes. Past standard lake surveys on Island Lake have typically occurred in July. Warm summer water temperatures typically result in crappies suspending in open water, which decreases their sampling efficiency. However, crappie were sampled and measured during targeted spring musky surveys in 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2009; as well as during a targeted Bluegill survey in 2024. Results of these surveys indicated that Island Lake supports a crappie population moderate in number and size with average lengths typically ranging from 7.5 to 9.5 inches. During the targeted surveys for muskellunge in 1994, 1999, 2004, and 2009, the percentage of Black Crappies sampled that were greater than 10 inches were 64%, 18%, 2%, and 4%, respectively. In the 2024 targeted Bluegill survey, a total of 295 Black Crappie were sampled for a catch rate of 8.4/net. Black Crappie lengths ranged from 4.5 to 12.4 inches with an average length of 9.4 inches. Thirty percent of crappies sampled were greater than 10 inches. The 2024 survey demonstrated a good crappie population was present; however, aging structures were not taken. Therefore, to include Island Lake in the statewide crappie research project, electrofishing was used in 2025 to sample known crappie areas efficiently. In 2025, a survey targeting Black Crappie was conducted in conjunction with a statewide research project to examine crappie size structure and age distributions. Crappie were caught via boat electrofishing during the daytime…

Minnesota DNR survey narrative, May 6, 2025.

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