Island Lake Fishing near Chisholm, Minnesota

• Overview

  Look for Island Lake in Itasca County, Minnesota. It stands 1,368 feet above sea level. This is a pocket water of some 14 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. It is a small entry by Itasca County standards. Some 34 miles away sits Chisholm, the nearest settlement. The nearest city of size is Fargo, 174 miles away. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Island Lake

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Survey and observation records for Itasca County include yellow perch, largemouth bass and northern pike. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Island Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July runs about 66°F on average, January about 5°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Hard water holds through the cold months, breaking up near late April. Climate figures give an open season running late April to mid November. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Island Lake rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Little Bass Lake, 0.4 miles away. Treat access at Island Lake as something to verify.