Middle McDougal

Middle McDougal Lake is in Lake County about nine miles west of Isabella and is within the Superior National Forest. Most of the lake is less than five feet deep and supports a variety of submerged, floating leaved, and emergent vegetation. The lake is connected to Coyote Creek and other nearby waterbodies known collectively as the McDougal Chain of Lakes. There is a public access with concrete log ramp at the Forest Service campground located on North McDougal Lake that provides access to the entire chain. Bluegill have established a naturally reproducing population with good size and age structure since first being sampled in the lake in 2000. Results from this survey confirm that year classes have been produced regularly over the past decade. Bluegill sampled in 2023 ranged from 2 to 10 years old and from 3 to 10" long, with 39% greater than 8" long. Growth is good compared to other area lakes with fish reaching about 7.5" at age-5. The Northern Pike catch had a similar size structure as previous surveys of the lake with few fish greater than 24" long sampled. The small number of Walleye sampled was also similar to previous surveys and the average length was 16.4" and average weight was 1.8 pounds. White Sucker and Yellow Perch were also sampled during the survey. Some perch may grow to a size of interest to anglers, but they are primarily a forage species.

Middle McDougal Lake has an area of 104 acres with a maximum depth of 7.0 feet and has fairly dark brown bog stained water. The lake is located nine miles west of Isabella and is part of the McDougal chain of lakes. Access to the lake is from the North McDougal Lake trailer in facility, up Coyote Creek, then up the smaller unnamed creek to the lake. The purpose of this survey was to update information on the fish community as per the 2011 Lake Management Plan and more specifically, to assess the relatively new Bluegill population. Most of the southeast and east shore of the lake is private land and 23 cabins are present. The remainder of the shoreline is owned by the U.S. Forest Service or State of MN. Due to shallow depth and abundant vegetation, only trap nets are used to assess the lake. The 2016 Bluegill trap net catch in 15 sets was 4.1/net with an average weight of 0.6 pounds and length of 8.6 inches. Both would be considered just above average for similar lakes in the Finland area. The largest Bluegill was 10.6 inches long and weighed 1.2 pounds, with 82% of the catch at least 8 inches long. The Walleye catch was 0.9/net, average for similar lakes in the area. The average weight of 0.8 pounds and length 13.1 inches was below average relative to similar lakes. The largest fish sampled was 20.5 inches long and weighed 2.7 pounds. The Northern Pike catch was 0.9/net with an average weight of 2.2 pounds. Two fish caught were greater than 34 inches long with the largest fish being 34.7 inches long and weighing 9.5 pounds. The Yellow Perch catch was 3.1/net, with an average weight just under 0.2 pounds. Both are considered about average for similar lakes in the area. The largest fish sampled was 11.1 inches long, and the average length of all Yellow Perch was 6.5 inches. The White Sucker catch of 2.1/net was average. The average weight of 2.5 pounds was above average. Hybrid sunfish and Pumpkinseed were also sampled in trap nets. Four quarter inch mesh trap nets were set and sampled Golden Shiner, Spottail Shiner, and Tadpole Madtom. Young-of-the-year Bluegill, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, White Sucker, and Yellow Perch were also sampled.

The shallow, heavily vegetated Middle McDougal Lake provides excellent habitat for bluegill, perch and other forage species; it is a valuable asset to all the lakes in the McDougal chain. Sample methods used for this lake favor shoreline species and were not ideal for assessing walleye and northern pike populations. Only trap net sets were used in 2009 to assess the fish community. The 2009 walleye abundance in Middle McDougal Lake was above average for the lake class with a catch of 1.1 fish per net, similar to past investigations. The average length was 13.3 inches with 25% of the catch larger than 16 inches. Growth was slightly above average for the Finland area. Northern pike numbers were 1.0 fish per trap net lift with an average length of 15.5 inches. Growth was below average compared to other lakes in the Finland area. Bluegills were first sampled in this lake in 2000. Their current population was well above average for the lake class with a catch of 9.0 fish per net. The average length was 7.2 inches with several fish over 8 inches. Growth was much faster than other lakes in the Finland area and reflects the excellent habitat present in Middle McDougal. Other fish sampled in the 2009 assessment included yellow perch, smallmouth bass and white suckers. Access to Middle McDougal Lake is gained through the North McDougal Lake access; take the channel from the south side of the west basin of North McDougal Lake 0.9 miles south then east 0.1 mile to the outlet of Middle McDougal Lake. The McDougal Lakes have very dark bog stained water with shallow boulder areas. Caution is advised when boating on these lakes.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Bluegill, Walleye, Hybrid Sunfish, Yellow Perch, and Northern Pike in Middle McDougal. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Middle McDougal has a maximum depth of 7 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Middle McDougal is from 2023.

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