Loft

Loft Lake has been managed for stream trout (mainly Brook Trout) since 1983. This was to have been the fourth of four surveys scheduled in the 2008 lake management plan (LMP) to provide a baseline against which future management changes could be measured. Only two of the three previously scheduled surveys were completed (2014 and 2017) . Current management objectives for Brook Trout in this lake are maintenance of a minimum gill net catch of 3.0 fish/set, with some age-3 fish present in odd-numbered years. Brook Trout were very abundant in 2021, but most were small (under 12 inches in length). The 2021 gill net catch was very high, both for this lake historically, and compared to other stream trout lakes in this area. No undesirable fish species were taken in the survey. The three most recent Brook Trout stockings (2018-2020 year classes) all contributed to the 2021 catch. Most of the catch consisted of two-year-old fish from the 2019 year class. That was an extra stocking (the lake has normally been stocked only in even-numbered years), and an unusually large one. However, the other two Brook Trout year classes were strong enough that even had the lake not been stocked in 2019, objectives for the lake would have been met. The presence of unusually high numbers of Brook Trout may have resulted in a reduction in growth rates in this lake. Fish reached a mean length of 8.5 inches at the end of their second year, compared to an area average of 9.2 inches, and a previous low (for this lake) of 9.1 inches. Competition between Brook Trout for available forage would have been intense, resulting in slower growth. One Splake from the 2016 stocking was collected in 2021. That fish had reached a length of 21.0 inches when captured near the end of what would have been its fifth full season in the lake.

Loft Lake has been managed for stream trout (mainly Brook Trout) since 1983. This was to have been the third of four surveys scheduled in the 2008 lake management plan to provide a baseline against which future management changes (if any) could be measured. Only one of the two previously scheduled surveys was completed (in 2014). The 2017 survey was intended to assess Brook Trout stocked in 2014. Only three-year-old Brook Trout, stocked in 2014, contributed to the 2017 catch. That was not surprising because no Brook Trout had been stocked in 2016, and survival to five years of age tends to be low in all area stream trout lakes. Even though just a single year class was present, the 2017 Brook Trout catch met the long range goal for the species from the 2008 plan (a minimum of 3.0 fish/gill net set). The combined catch of Splake and Brook Trout easily exceeded that goal. Growth of Brook Trout taken in 2017 had been fairly fast; fish reached a mean length of 14.8 inches at the end of their third year, compared to an area average of 12.7 inches. Good Brook Trout growth was apparently supported by forage provided by relatively high numbers of minnows found in 2017. Survival of Splake stocked in 2016 appeared to have been very good; the catch of that single year class was well above average compared to gill net catches typically seen in fall surveys of stream trout lakes in the Grand Marais area. Growth appeared to have been about average. Fish had reached a mean length of 9.6 inches when captured near the end of their second season of growth, which was close to the area average of 9.7 inches for fish that had experienced two full seasons of growth. Splake were stocked in 2016 due to the closure and disinfection of the State's Brook Trout hatchery (Crystal Springs), which resulted in a shortage of Brook Trout in that year.

Because Loft Lake is stocked with brook trout fingerlings in mid fall of even years, this early-fall even-year population assessment would be expected to sample mostly two-year-old brook trout. Four-year-old fish brook trout are rarely encountered in fall. All brook trout caught in this September 2014 assessment were two years of age. The number caught (14.0 fish/net) was at the upper end of the normal range for catches in fall assessments of Grand Marais-area brook trout lakes. Catches in past odd-year assessments, when one- and three-year-old fish have been present, have not exceeded 14.5 fish/net. Mean weight of brook trout taken in 2014 was slightly higher than average for fall catches in lakes in this area. Brook trout collected in 2014 ranged from 10.2 inches to 14.5 inches, and averaged 12.0 inches. Growth rates of brook trout had been very close to average for this class of lake and for lakes in the Grand Marais area. Results of this even-year assessment, and the scarcity of three-year-old fish in past odd-year assessments, suggest that in even years adequate numbers of brook trout can be present to support angling, with numbers similar to odd years, but with fewer fish over 15 inches present. In odd years one- and three-year-old fish should be present in the lake. One-year-old fish would be abundant, but for most of the open water season most would be under 10 inches. Three-year-old fish would be less abundant, but should exceed 12 inches in spring and may exceed 16 inches in the fall.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Brook Trout and Splake in Loft. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Loft. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Loft has a maximum depth of 48 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Loft is from 2021.

No invasive species are on record for Loft in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.