Margaret

Margaret is a small, relatively remote Brook Trout lake located west of the Arrowhead Trail and just south of the eastern end of the Shoe Lake Road. This lake is stocked with fingerling Brook Trout via air-drop in the fall of even numbered years. Net catches of Brook Trout were low in September 2015, with only four fish sampled in two gill net sets. An otter was seen near one of the nets and may have removed fish from it, resulting in lower catches. All Brook Trout captured in 2015 were from the fall 2014 fingerling stocking. Failure to capture larger older brook trout from the 2012 or 2010 stockings could mean those fish were harvested by anglers or were present and simply missed by the nets. Stocking failures can be ruled out since both these year classes were sampled in the 2013 survey in fair numbers. Catches of Brook Trout in past surveys on Margaret Lake have been variable. Most past surveys have caught some Brook Trout over 12 inches, with several sampling fish in the 14 to 15 inch range. The White Sucker gill net catch in 2015 was within the normal range for gill net catches in fall assessments of stream trout lakes in this area (2.0 - 11.5 fish/net). White Sucker compete with Brook Trout for invertebrate forage, but fairly good growth for Brook Trout collected in a previous survey (2013) suggested that competition was not a limiting factor at current levels of White Sucker abundance.

Brook trout were fairly abundant in Margaret Lake in the fall of 2013, and some larger fish were present. Fish collected ranged in length from 6.9 to 15.6 inches. Fingerling stockings done in 2012 and 2010 had contributed to the catch. Growth of three-year-old fish had been close to average for the area; they reached a mean length of 12.3 inches by the end of their third year. The white sucker gill net catch in 2013 was within the normal range for gill net catches in fall assessments of stream trout lakes in this area (2.0 - 11.5 fish/net). White sucker compete with brook trout for invertebrate forage, but fairly good growth for brook trout collected in 2013 suggested that competition was not a limiting factor at current levels of white sucker abundance.

The brook trout catch in 2004 was relatively low, both compared to other stream trout lakes in the area, and compared to past catches in this lake. The rainbow trout catch was about average compared to other stream trout lakes in the area, and it was one of the better catches seen in this lake. Margaret Lake supported a few trout larger than 12 inches. White sucker abundance appeared to have been fairly low.Margaret Lake is a very small, relatively inaccessible stream trout lake that is probably lightly fished. However, because it is so small, trout abundance and fishing success can decline quickly in response to harvests of fish by just a handfull of successful fishing parties.

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

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

Margaret has a maximum depth of 29 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Margaret is from 2015. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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