Island Lake (Stearns County)
Stearns County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 73010400
Island Lake (Stearns County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Island Lake (Stearns County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 41 ft, mean depth 9 ft; surface area 116 acres, 98 littoral acres, 2.6 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 9.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black bullhead, black crappie, bluegill, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Stearns County, nearest town Collegeville; DNR lake number (DOW) 73010400.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 5/23/1979 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| gravel ramp | TOW | Informal user developed access at edge of Island Lake Road on the east side of the lake. - No parking signs are posted along the road. |
DNR fish survey, 2011
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 47.05 | 54 | 1.86 |
| Bluegill | 15-ft beach seine | 31.43 | 220 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | 15-ft beach seine | 5.00 | 35 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | 15-ft beach seine | 2.71 | 19 | 0.00 |
| BCS | 15-ft beach seine | 2.57 | 18 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 1.71 | 12 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | 15-ft beach seine | 0.86 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | 15-ft beach seine | 0.86 | 6 | 0.00 |
| Northern pike | 15-ft beach seine | 0.29 | 2 | 0.00 |
| Green sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 21.84 | 20 | 0.00 |
| Iowa darter | Backpack electrofishing | 12.01 | 11 | 0.00 |
| Largemouth bass | Backpack electrofishing | 4.37 | 4 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Backpack electrofishing | 3.28 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Backpack electrofishing | 3.28 | 3 | 0.00 |
| Pumpkinseed | Backpack electrofishing | 1.09 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Yellow bullhead | Backpack electrofishing | 1.09 | 1 | 0.00 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 10.88 | 87 | 0.09 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 6.12 | 49 | 0.30 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 6.00 | 48 | 0.72 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 1.12 | 9 | 1.15 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.75 | 6 | 1.10 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 0.50 | 4 | 0.14 |
| Green sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.25 | 2 | 0.06 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.25 | 2 | 0.37 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 9.60 | 48 | 0.54 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 4.40 | 22 | 0.09 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 4.00 | 20 | 1.06 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 3.80 | 19 | 0.24 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 15 | 1.31 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard gill nets | 1.00 | 5 | 0.24 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard gill nets | 0.80 | 4 | 0.07 |
| Black bullhead | Standard gill nets | 0.40 | 2 | 0.76 |
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.
Island Lake is a 120 acre lake located three miles west of St. Joseph in Stearns County. The lake has no public access; an informal access exists with limited parking. Northern pike, largemouth bass, black crappie, and bluegill are present. Island Lake has a very diverse aquatic plant community, including humped bladderwort, a species of special concern. Oakes pondweed and quillwort are rare species found nowhere else in Stearns County. The lake was surveyed in August 2011. Northern pike abundance was lower than the last survey in 2001 and lower than expected for lakes similar to Island. The average size was 17.5 inches and 1 pound. The largest pike captured was 21 inches. Growth was similar to other lakes statewide. Northern pike grew to 19 inches in 3 years. Largemouth bass were surveyed in May 2011 by daytime electrofishing. The catch rate was good and 44% of bass captured were larger than 15 inches. The average size was 14 inches and 2 pounds; and the largest bass was 20 inches. Growth was slow; largemouth bass reached 12 inches in six years. The number of bluegill was similar to the 2001 survey and within the expected range for lakes similar to Island. Bluegill were small. The average length was 5 inches and the largest bluegill was 7 inches. Bluegill growth was slow compared to statewide averages. Bluegill grew to 6 inches in seven years. Black crappie numbers were not high, but within the expected range for lakes similar to Island. The average length (7 inches) and weight (0.2 lbs) were typical compared to similar lakes. Growth was slow. Crappies reached 8 inches in seven years. No yellow perch were captured in 2011 and past survey catches have been very low. Other species captured included: pumpkinseed, hybrid sunfish, black and yellow bullhead, and one walleye.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
Stocking rows, depths, accesses and survey figures are Minnesota DNR LakeFinder data as of 2026-09-02; contours are the DNR bathymetric survey. Regulations, slot limits and special rules are on the DNR page linked above, not here.
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.