Island Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Island Lake grades a B, with clarity at 11.5 ft and phosphorus readings still being added placing it above the Wisconsin median. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Island Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. The lake bottoms out at 17 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 344 acres, Island Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Within the 34 graded lakes of Iron County, Island Lake sits at rank 30, near the bottom of the county list.

Island Lake has at least one documented invasive species (Banded Mystery Snail), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 5 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR public-access list. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.