Detroit Lakes Area – Island Lake, MN Bass Fishing

This past weekend I was able to venture north to Island lake located between Detroit lakes and Park Rapids to put in some good hours bassin. The lake is typically known for its early and late season walleye action but it also has a healthy population of both Largemouth and Smallmouth bass.

It was a slow start as was to be expected due to the heavy rains and thunderstorms that passed through the area Friday night. By slowing down to a light weighted Texas rigged tube and a 4” Yum Dinger hooked wacky style, the two provided non-stop action for several hours. The Wacky stick is not my most favorite rig to use but when the bite is soft it sure seams to produce. Although the size remained small with largemouth up to only 17 inches, it allowed me to locate fish and develop a pattern. I found anywhere the darker bottom and reeds were present you were sure to find some buckets.

Late in the afternoon the topwater bass bite seamed to come alive and take over. It was just about as good as it gets, although the size was down again the numbers seamed to make up for it. The top water chug baits took top honors producing many largemouth in the 15 to 17 inch range. One cast ended with a 15 and 17 inch double. A two for one makes for an interesting time deciding on which one to lip. A good photo opportunity was missed that night when I decided to leave the camera in the truck due to the rain…this won’t happen again.

Although I didn’t have my Ranger with to cover some water and locate some larger fish, the lake is capable of producing 19-20 inch fish. The lake had a nice mix of rock, weed and sand shorelines along with many points, rock piles and a few islands. The rock piles were very similar to those found on Mille Lacs lake which top out in a couple feet of water and can be a real blast for smallies too!