Largemouth Bass
The east-end timber is the largemouth address. Fallen trees, logs and stumps pile up over the lake's only real depth, and bass hold in the wood there and prowl the weed beds and coves everywhere else. Second only to pike in what anglers land here, largemouth get the run of a basin that is essentially wall-to-wall cover — the fishery a flooded cedar swamp was always going to grow.
← Back to Island Lake conditionsHow it fishes
Think shallow and snaggy. The bass opener lands on the fourth Saturday of June, and from there largemouth work the submerged and standing timber in the eastern arm and the weed beds, pads and coves that fill the rest of the reservoir.
The east-end wood is the anchor — it stacks cover against the only 20-plus-foot water on the lake — while summer heat spreads fish through the shallow vegetation. One rule shapes the whole trip: CVC runs largemouth as catch-and-release only on the property, and fishing is boat-access-only during park hours, so plan on releasing everything and launching a boat rather than working the bank.
Gas motors are banned, so it's a paddle or electric game. No stocking here — the bass are naturalized.
Structure
The submerged and standing wood at the east end over the deepest water — the reservoir's prime largemouth cover, holding fish where depth and structure meet.
The extensive vegetation and quiet pockets across the flooded basin — warm-water bass cover that spreads fish out through summer.
Regulations
This is a summary, not the legal regulation — confirm current rules with the official source before fishing.