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Woodman: How many years back did they start the current slot limit on Island? Has the DNR with their yearly nets, identified any strong year classes of young walleyes yet? Just wondering how many years it will take the lake before it starts producing a good number of 14- 17 inch eaters. We might have to give Island a try this year on one of our Winnie trips, and see for ourselves how things are coming along--especially if there is very little boat pressure compared to its banner years.

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Evergreen Resort has been closed for many years, the owner did have a campground down the hill from the resort but for the last two years this has been closed and Steve the owner of the resort and campground passed away this summer, mary is still alive and living in the home north of the campground

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Walleye2001.......I feel your pain....My friend has a place(old resort) on N. Island Lake Rd. We remodeled the place around 15 years ago. Great walleye lake. The main reason this lake is in transition was when URL was closed for walleyes for several years and this lake just got pounded day in and day out. I've never seen so many boats in the summer taking limits of fish and the same in the winter.....I can acually say when I fished it I'd take one home on occassion for dinner.....just my thoughts.....Island is pretty fertile lake and will come around in a few years and be the same she was in the 90's. Slot limits do work, especially when it comes to this lake.

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Walleye2001.......I feel your pain....My friend has a place(old resort) on N. Island Lake Rd. We remodeled the place around 15 years ago. Great walleye lake. The main reason this lake is in transition was when URL was closed for walleyes for several years and this lake just got pounded day in and day out. I've never seen so many boats in the summer taking limits of fish and the same in the winter.....I can acually say when I fished it I'd take one home on occassion for dinner.....just my thoughts.....Island is pretty fertile lake and will come around in a few years and be the same she was in the 90's. Slot limits do work, especially when it comes to this lake.

WallEYES: What 'old resort" did you and your friend remodel? My family ran one years ago on the southeast side of Island and my current fishing partner with his buddies ran one in a bay on the north side, I think it was the old Double M if I remmember correctly, east of Stones place on the hill in the far NW corner. I think you are right, in time the slot will work, but it takes time.

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Huskie send me an email and I will send you some pics from last summer. [email protected]

The slot is working and like I said before give it another 3 years and we will be back to what it was, I hope! I believe the slot has been in affect for 4years now, but that is a guess. I forgot to ask my dad.

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Hi,Guys

Just saw some chat about island, I actually spent alot of time growing up on that lake, my aunt and uncle have a home now, was a cabin years ago, just up the hill from Benders resort. I live in the Brainerd area and fish here all the time, but i always think about the times running to stoneys bait shop with my dad and then trolling back and forth in front of elmwood island and catching fish after fish. I've heard guys talk about soft spots for lakes and this one would be mine. I haven't fished island for about 5 years. and the last time i did my uncle was very clear about the slot, and that we would be having beef, or steaks for dinner. i hope this lake comes back, so i can take my son (who will be 1 tomorrow) up there to enjoy what i enjoyed so much when i was a kid. sorry to babble fellas. Good luck on island and lets remember to all help out to bring her back.

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Bowtech- Oh yes the memories of docking at Stony's and running up the hill to the bait shop in wee hours of the morninging. I just loved the times we used to be on the lake at 4 am in order to get a parking spot at the landing. You knew the lake was hot when the trucks and trailers were all the way to the road. I would suspect that it will be like that in a few years, so lets all do our part and protecting the slot so the natural reproduction will go into full swing and be back to what it was in the 90's. I drove around the lake with my family a couple weeks ago and wow I had things to say the whole way around with the places I used to work at or planting trees, to hanging out with friends and family. My kids want to go to Elmwood and camp like I used to for Boy Scouts. Now that would really be special and lots of fun!

Bow Tech, I used to work at Eisingers cabin all through high school which must be close to your cabin. My classmate from HS now has a house accross the road from Bernie Benders, cuz he married his daughter.

The "Cabins" that are being erected on the lake are unbelievable and I just shake my head when I see what is torn down and being built!

Thanks for the memories and keep them comming!

Till next time,

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  • 2 weeks later...

Only a couple of times, but I can tell you there are some nice fish in there. I remember sucker fishing on Racmis creek and neeting some nice eyes in the early 90's. It is worth a try, but the landing is a little tricky! Good luck and wait for that first tap tap!

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The landing on shallow pond should be better right now as the water levels are way up in the area. Island Lake is near all time highs right now and Shallow Pond looks high from driving past it. I like the "tap tap" woodman!

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  • 2 weeks later...

HUSKIE....Sorry it took so long to get back here...been fishing quite a bit.

The resort we remodeled is on the north end of the lake, it use to be called BUCKS resort and then ATKINS resort. My buddy had to reconfiqure and change the gravel road in order to remodel. There is a house with 3 small cottages there now and across the road is a private bar area for all the relatives to congregate in.

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Just a FYI reguarding Shallow Pond.... The DNR is in the process of putting in a landing on the north shore. It's supposed to be completed this fall some time.

When some one posted that the landing was "tricky", I laughed. That "landing" is just plain dangerous, has been for 30 years. As locals we haved petitioned (hounded and annoyed) the State and Feds for years on this matter. From simply posting (and inforcing) a lower speed limit to having a passing lane, all the way up to an actual landing.

I guess the way to get results from the Government is 20 years of complaints, leads to 5 years of their "looking in to it", gets you a really solid "as the budget permits".

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Your right about it being dangerous, not that many years ago when someone was landing there and the loaded fuel truck came around the corner and had to hit the ditch and started on fire.

On to fishing, has anyone fished or did any good on island yet or still to early??

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  • 4 weeks later...

We just returned from our annual trip the 1st week of June. My family and I have been fishing that lake in June for 30 plus years. Good fishing with several walleyes ranging in size from 17 to 26 inches. My 14 year old niece got a 32 inch pike.

Trolled purple or blue Husky jerk-baits in 9 feet of water in front of new weed beds.

While the slot limit aggravates some in our group that want to take some walleye home, I am all for it.

Since the slot went in we have caught more and better quality fish. There were times you would spend all day on the lake and you were lucky to catch one or two. Now you can pull up on a point or a hump you know should hold fish and it does.

The original post on this thread complained about the bass. My younger brother caught one 5 pounds 6 ounces this year. I am all for them.

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cjmiller- thanks for the report, yes the slot is doing it's job and if you are searching for keepers, don't go to Island the weekly reports I get from my dad is out of every 10 fish you get to keep one. The slot is doing well and it won't be long and the lake will be back. The other subject I have no comment on.

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Just got back from a week on Island and your dad hit it right Woodman about keeping 1 out of 10. We were able to have a walleye meal and a northern meal. Overall fishing was OK. Some days we'd catch a few more than others but it was a fun week.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Fished Duck a few hours on 7/1 and 7/2 with not much luck. Worked some of the bars and mid-lake structure. Found a few walleyes but no real size. Spinner rigs with a crawler helped me cover water. Once found a live bait rig with a leech or jigging Gulp Alive caught fish. 13 to 20 FOW. Water temp was 66 degrees.

Anyone catching fish over 14"?

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Fished Black Duck Saturday July 11th. Caught a lot of tiny smallmouth in 20-15ft of water and plenty up shallow. I only was able to fish for a few hours and I focused mainly around one of the small islands. With the wind I had a hard time staying on a weedline and I never really marked any fish either? Drifted with leeches and tried trolling cranks. The leeches produced more 5-10" smallmouth than I care to catch...

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MN DNR website does not have any smallmouth bass listed in the lake. Are you sure that is what you were catching???

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Yep, no question. I swore I overheard this was a decent smallie lake before I went there? The DNR doesn't list them? I wonder what their netting surveys show?

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  • 2 weeks later...

the "smallies" are likely "Rockos" aka Rock Bass

Mike D: I would agree, I've caught a few that were not Rockos but 99% are the bony variety of Rock Bass!!!! A few years ago I saw a group of out of staters come to the dock with many of them, thinking they were smallies, didn't have the heart to tell em any differently!!!!

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Well I caught about 10-15 of them and none were rock bass, definitely smallies. Caught to many of them to not know what they were. I keep meaning to get back on Blackduck, seems like a nice lake! Not a fan of the gravel road into the lake though...

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Hey Walleye Wisdom, remember me on Crane with the yellow tahoe,well I am wondering if you are talking about blackduck lake over near Orr. I have heard that is a good bronzeback lake.

L8r,

Kyle

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