Three Island Lake (Itasca County)
Itasca County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 31054200
Three Island Lake (Itasca County) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Three Island Lake (Itasca County) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 66 ft; surface area 250 acres, 66 littoral acres, 3.8 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 23.0 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: bluegill, largemouth bass, northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, white sucker, yellow perch.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Itasca County, nearest town Marcell; DNR lake number (DOW) 31054200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey; depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| PO | USF | Portage trail from Crooked Lake on SW shore. |
DNR fish survey, 2012
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallmouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 121.90 | 173 | 0.49 |
| Largemouth bass | Standard electrofishing | 5.64 | 8 | 0.91 |
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 4.67 | 42 | 0.12 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.67 | 6 | 0.78 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard trap nets | 0.33 | 3 | 2.07 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.11 | 1 | 0.03 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 3.00 | 18 | 3.61 |
| Smallmouth bass | Standard gill nets | 2.83 | 17 | 1.67 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 0.83 | 5 | 0.05 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 0.50 | 3 | 3.93 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 0.33 | 2 | 3.39 |
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.
Three Island Lake is a 235-acre lake located 5 miles east of Marcell, MN. The lake is moderately developed and has very clear water with a Secchi disk reading of 23 ft. Three Island Lake is deep with a maximum depth of 66 ft and is accessible by a portage trail from Crooked Lake. Previous water chemistry indicated low fertility which impacts the fishery through slow growth and reduced abundance. Primary fish species include smallmouth and largemouth bass, northern pike and panfish. Smallmouth and largemouth bass were sampled by night electrofishing in early June. Three Island Lake historically has a high density smallmouth bass population with quality fish. The catch rate in 2012 was 121.9/hour and was similar to past assessments which varied from 65 to 120/hour. Size structure was good with fish up to 20 inches sampled. Growth was slow with fish averaging 13.5 inches by age six compared to 20.5 inches at age six for the statewide average. Although growth was slow, fish up to age 12 were sampled. Despite slow growth, smallmouth in Three Island Lake live long enough to attain a large size. Anglers can help maintain the quality smallmouth bass population by releasing larger fish because it can take 10 years or longer to grow a 20 inch fish. Largemouth bass were less abundant and had an electrofishing catch rate of 4.5/hour and was similar to past assessments. Size structure was good with fish up to 17 inches sampled. Growth was also slow with fish averaging 13.5 inches at age six compared to 15.1 inches for the statewide average. The northern pike gill net catch rate was 3.0/net and was at the lower end of the expected range for similar lakes. Northern pike were not sampled in the first two assessments in 1968 and 1974 and catch rates in assessments since then have varied from 4.0 to 8.6/gill net. Size structure in 2012 was moderate with fish up to 30 inches sampled. Previous assessments had sampled fish up to 39 inches. Growth was faster than the statewide average to age seven and slower than the average to age nine. The bluegill catch rate was 4.7/trap net and was lower than the expected range for similar lakes. Catch rates in past assessments have been variable from 3.0 to 37.5/trap net. Size structure was poor with only two fish sampled larger than 8 inches. Size structure has also been poor in past assessments, likely due to the low fertility of the lake. Three walleye were sampled for a catch rate of 0.5/gill net which was below the expected range. Walleye catch rates have generally been low and walleye were not sampled in the first two assessments…
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.