Fish Lake, Island Lake Boulder Lake Fishing Reports

[dave12341234]

Can anyone who's been out on rice the last few days confirm how much snow the lake has? Did you notice if it was bonded? Thanks!

[arctic_scrap1]

It's the only public boat launch on the east side of Island lake. Its past the Island lake Inn.

Alright thanks for the info.

[S.S. Fiasco]

anyone been on boulder?

[Shane Z]

The bite was not hot and heavy put I was able to pull these babies up today. I lost some nice ones at the hole as well I've noticed that the fish have been muc more finicky and disinterested when trying to jig them, so i decided to throw out my tip up and it was going off non-stop..

The Key: to immobilize the minnow enough for sluggish fish to want an easy meal. I:m still fishing in 12 FOW and also caught one in 6 ft. I used just a single red hook with a 3ft. fluorocarbon leader and had a couple 1/8 oz split shots roughly 4 inches above the minnow.

[Northlander]

Shane were you on island?

[Jarrid Houston]

I don't think he was on Island. Sherpa and I got up toward Brimson area. Hit a couple lakes and in the end found walleye gold. No big ones but we did keep. We were 1 shy of our limit, with a perch and a pike to top it off. Fish came at dark and continued until we left at around 8. Could of say out there and caught eyes all night, but it's a haul and we had to get ready for today! Most fish we caught came on live minnow dead sticked with a glow green demon. Fish were in 10 FOW... Fun night

[Shane Z]

Steve- Jarrid is correct

[Big Country]

took kids to grand. ewwwww. CROWDED! managed to convince the boy his sucker minnow was a little fish, (the girl was a lil to wise 4 that lie). only action we had other than playing.

It's become the new Fish Lake. Loud rude people. Guy's doing doughnuts on their wheelers at prime time, racing their sleds up and down the lake, F bombs being dropped all over. Trash being left everywhere. Not a good "family" place to take the kids anymore IMO. BC

[Jarrid Houston]

BC I hate how people can pollute a nice enviroment. Feel for you man...sorry to hear that about Grand..

[Northlander]

Grand, fish, boulder, rice and pike are all getting worse. Seems like there is just a lot more people on the ice that think only of themselves and the next drink.

[Big Country]

Yeah, too bad. People want to get out and party, just like deer season. My son was down there on the wheeler by himself a few weeks ago. When he came to the landing, there was a guy in a car that tried to go over the heaved concrete pad and was stuck. He helped him and another guy push it off only to watch the fella dump it in the ditch on the way down the road. Son said all were heavily intoxicated. Not cool. BC

[Jarrid Houston]

That is bad to hear BC, but not suprised......................'morons!!!!!!!!!

[merkman]

only to watch the fella dump it in the ditch on the way down the road. Son said all were heavily intoxicated.

Probably a good thing......

Better than killing an innocent kid, parent, or family.

.

[arctic_scrap1]

Fished all over the east side of Island today and got 1 little walleye and about a 7lb pike. Did the same thing I did my first time at Island and just followed my gps to dropoffs and other structure and fished anywhere from 10-25ft of water. I think next time I will dry the dam.

[northernfishin]

I'm thinking of hitting up the afternoon/moonlight bite tomorrow on boulder. Haven't had a chance to hit it up since last winter. Curious how the ice is. Curious what's safer bet, truck or snowmobile/wheeler? Any tips would be great!

[Flyin Ryan]

Boulder has over 20" of ice. People are driving full sized trucks out there. I would still use caution though. If you have a wheeler, i'd rather be safe than sorry.

[osok]

Northern,

Flyin is correct, lot's of ice and full size trucks going everywhere.

[northernfishin]

Thanks Guys.

We're going to take the wheeler. Any help on areas to try first. I was thinking 11 FOW - 15, but not sure if its worth punching a lot of holes in the basin. Is the water level down from what dnr lake maps say?

[Flyin Ryan]

Small walleyes but a few monster jumbos. I would set up somewhere near a few permanents out from the landing. Stay deeper than 10 FOW and you'll mark fish.

[northernfishin]

Got one nice crappie out there. I was in 12FOW and marked a ton of fish and missed quite a few eyes or jumbos. They were big marks. Hit both dead and jig, but just ever so lightly that we were pulling hooks out. Frustrating but at least we were on fish. We fished away from people in a nice little pointed weed line.

[osok]

I was out there braving the cold and wind on the 21st looking for Walleyes but these pesky buggers kept running into my baits. Fished between 12-15 FOW. These 2 piggies were the largest (14-15"ish) and are still swimming.

[Shane Z]

Went out after crappies this weekend with fair success. Threw A LOT back, one being 14 inches. I also lost a monster yesterday morning Caught all of them in 10-12 FOW with artificial bait. Used a Custom Jiggs and Spins Clear/white Ratso tail and a small pink jig. With this cold weather pushing through, I can definitely see the action starting to pick up mid week.

One quick note: I've been stopped by a Conservation Officer twice this year, so make sure your licensed and legal...just sayin.

[Ozzy23]

1st time user here, great info here and thanks for the forum. I have a few ?s about ice fishing on Island Lake. It seems as though Fish and Boulder lakes get more attention in the forums and newspapers etc, I would like to ice fish on Island. Does Island lake get good enough ice on the far west side to safely travel by sled, atv etc? I will be very mobile and have all the electronics to find diff depths and structures to fish on, so I am not looking for any hot spots just some basic info on presentation etc. I will be looking for walleye, crappie and perch. Due to the water clarity is it primarily a daylight bite or is it worth bringing along the led lights?

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Jack Stasney]

I'm not the expert when it comes to hard water fishing on Island lake, but I can give you a some insight. First and foremost it has the Cloquet river flowing through it. This makes the channel a place to stay away from. Also I've heard reports over the years of ice not always being real consistent in areas you normally think would not be bad. I know a lot of shore owners fish for crappies and walleyes. Fairly stained water. I would think it would be a dawn-evening bite, but you could probably manage a few during the day. Not sure about the night time. I'm sure some of the more experienced Island Laker's will chime in.

[Down Deep]

With the cold temps travel should be good all over the lake, but you know what they say about ice. You will find snowmobile tracks all over the lake so stick to those and you should be good. These cold temps have hampered my desire and I haven't been out there since early Jan. The walleye bite was very slow and fish were small. Late afternoon and evening are usually best. Set up on island points or reefs located just off of islands. Pinch points between islands also hold walleyes. Crappies are anybody's guess when located them. I usually reserve crappie fishing for March when the days are longer and temps are warmer allowing for easier travel. For some reason crappies move around this lake and I rarely find them in the same location two days in a row. I usually move several times before locating the crappies. Overall my best luck has been to fish shorelines with quick drops to 30 FOW or more. If you can locate the large bays with this type of structure all the better. I start at the shoreline and drill holes every 10 feet checking the depth at each location. Then I start deep and work inward till l locate a crappie. I usually have to move on several times before locating a fish. Then it can be game on or more of a long day.

Welcome to FM. I hope you contribute often.

[Northlander]

I like crappies in March and early ice on Island. I snowmobile out to spots we catch them late fall. When you get on them they are usually hungry and big.

[Ozzy23]

Thanks for the info guys! I have a few spots pinned on the GPS and most of them require crossing the channel so I will most likely just walk out there. If I get out I will post a report.

[osok]

When fishing Island lake, how is the access close to the dam ( up the road from the Minnowette(SP?))?

[Surface Tension]

The parking lot at the dam is probably plowed.

No reason to not take the sled out there. On the Western end stay clear of the dam.

The water level drops in the winter. Where there are humps, bars, points the ice will hang there

as the water drops. That might create and gradually rise or a step break off. Easy enough just to go around.

[Ozzy23]

Frank, When you say go around, I assume you mean follow the southern shore for a distance before crossing the channel? I was thinking maybe .5 miles or so? Thanks