Island Lake

How big is Island Lake?

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What kind of fish can you catch in Island Lake?

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Are there boat launches on Island Lake?

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Island Lake is located in Lyon County 12 miles southwest of the city of Marshall, has a surface area of 163 acres, and maximum depth of 8 feet. Island Lake is primarily managed for northern pike and secondarily for yellow perch. Population assessments have been conducted every 4 to 6 years since 1988. The most recent survey was conducted during the week of July 25th, 2011 with 1 gill net and 7 trap nets.



Island Lake is characterized by a simple fish community. During the 2011 population assessment only 4 species were sampled, northern pike, yellow perch, black bullhead, and green sunfish. Simple fish communities can be easily managed and manipulated to augment catch rates, but in the same way they can be easily devastated with overfishing and habitat degradation. Island is a relatively isolated lake from large scale disturbances in the watershed and has a small watershed-to-lake ratio of 5. While this is good from a landuse, erosion, and water pollution standpoint, isolation can lead to issues in low waters years as drought can lead to habitat fragmentation that can interrupt natural reproduction (especially for northern pike). Additionally, small watershed-to-lake ratio lakes can be primed for winterkill events because influxes of well oxygenated water sources are uncommon in winter months. So far, Island Lake has been free of these types of issues, although future management must be swift if such conditions do arise if the fish community is expected to remain healthy.



Island Lake northern pike numbers are impressive when compared to other Windom Area lakes. The northern pike catch rate in 2011 was 27 fish per gill net which is more than 3 times the upper normal range of 8.0 fish per gill net. Additionally, the 2011 gill net catch rate was the greatest on record and 3 times the long-term average gill net catch rate of 9.0 fish per net. The trap net catch rate was 2.6 fish per net which was also greater than the long-term average of 1.8 fish per net. The average length of northern pike in the gill nets and trap nets was 19.0 and 12.2 inches respectively with a range of 7.4 to 30.8 inches. Analyzing size structure of the northern pike in the sample indicated a population favoring smaller fish. While the size of the fish was less than the desired management goal the larger fish in the sample met the goal of maintaining some large fish in the sample and the catch rate was greater than the goal of 5 per gill net. Additionally, the condition of the northern pike in the sample was good. The northern pike population in Island Lake appears to be primed to produce a balanced population within the management goals with trophy size fish possible over the next 5 to 10 years as evidenced by the current size structure, abundance, condition, and evidence of very good natural reproduction. If you have some young anglers looking to catch their first northern pike, Island Lake is a prime lake.


Northern pike rely on an adequate forage base to be successful in a lake, and Island has a very good forage base for northern pike in the presence of yellow perch. Yellow perch in Island Lake are at an all time high catch rate of 444 fish per gill net. The current catch rate is nearly 18 times the upper normal range of 25.0 fish per gill net and 3 times the long-term average catch rate of 151.6 fish per gill net. From those statistics it is apparent that Island Lake produces many yellow perch. Usually, an extremely high catch rate of yellow perch indicates a population dominated by a single size group of fish. That is not the case in Island Lake. The average length of yellow perch in the gill nets and trap nets was 8.4 and 6.6 inches, respectively, with a range in length of 4.5 to 10.8 inches. The sample indicated a balanced size structure. In addition, the overall condition of the population was good indicating a population that is foraging successfully and is not experiencing stress of overpopulation due to competition with other yellow perch. The yellow perch population in Island Lake is currently exceeding the management goal of maintaining abundance within the normal range. Fishing for yellow perch should include good sizes of fish the possibility to catch your daily limit each time you go.



The black bullhead population in Island Lake appears to be suppressed from historical levels. The 2011 gill net and trap net catch rates were 43.0 and 49.1 fish per net, respectively, but within their respective normal ranges(gill net = 30.3 to 150.6 fish per net; trap net = 0.1 to 0.3 fish per net). The long-term gill net catch rate is 93.5 fish per gill net, so the current level is less than half of the long-term average. While the population appears depressed, whether by predation, competition, or other causes, the population size structure was in a balanced state. The average size of black bullhead was 7.2 inches with a range in length from 4.3 to 16.3 inches. The black bullhead population currently is displaying low population abundance in relation to historical levels, but given an opportunity to successfully reproduce, the population will expand. Based on the netting done in Windom Area lakes in 2011, black bullhead fishing on Island Lake is probably one of the best places for numbers of harvestable size fish in the Windom Fisheries Management area and should be a destination for all bullhead anglers.


Green sunfish were observed in the catch on Island Lake and appear to be doing well. The trap net catch rate was 2.0 fish per net, essentially equal to the upper normal value. The average size of green sunfish was 4.3 inches with a range in length from 3.3 to 5.8 inches. Green sunfish are opportunistic fish that when given an opportunity to do well they will increase in number and dominate the sunfish population of a lake as is seen in Island Lake by the lack of other sunfish in the sample.


Island Lake is a resource worth protecting. Most of the Windom Area Management lakes are managed for walleye. Island Lake has no walleye but supports an excellent number of northern pike and yellow perch which is rare in the area. Best management practices should be utilized in the watershed to maintain the unique and healthy fishery found in Island Lake.


Prepared by Nate Hodgins

Are there any state parks near Island Lake?