Martha

Lake Martha is a small 97-acre lake located two miles southwest of Hanover in Wright County. Martha has a maximum depth of 25 feet and an average water clarity of six feet. A state-owned public access is located along the south shore and offers parking for two to three vehicle/trailer combos. A standard survey was conducted in 2022 to update fisheries data last collected in 2006. The highlight of Lake Martha is its Bluegill and Largemouth Bass fisheries. The lake produces good populations of nice-sized fish for the area. Anglers can expect respectable numbers and size of Bluegill. The average length of Bluegill sampled was just over seven inches with fish up to 8.5 inches measured in the survey. Anglers can also expect good Largemouth Bass action. Bass over 12 inches are common with some larger-sized fish up to 20 inches. Black Crappie numbers are making a comeback and average 7.5 inches with a few over 10 inches. Northern pike numbers are the lowest they have been since the 1980's. With the lower abundance and an ample food source, pike have the potential to grow to larger sizes over time. We hope that this will be the case in Lake Martha. Pike sampled ranged in length from 18 to 33 inches with an average length and weight of 25 inches and just under four pounds. Walleye have not been stocked in the lake since 1989 and are quite rare. An angler looking for Walleye would need to rely more on luck than skill to catch one. Only two Walleye have ever been surveyed in Lake Martha over the last 36 years, one of which was sampled in 2022 and measured 22 inches. Other species that were seen in the survey were Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Hybrid Sunfish, and Pumpkinseed.

Lake Martha is a small 97-acre lake located two miles southwest of Hanover in Wright County. Martha has a maximum depth of 25 feet and an average water clarity of six feet. A state-owned public access is located along the south shore and offers parking for two to three vehicle/trailer combos. A standard survey was conducted in 2022 to update fisheries data last collected in 2006. The highlight of Lake Martha is its Bluegill and Largemouth Bass fisheries. The lake produces good populations of nice-sized fish for the area. Anglers can expect respectable numbers and size of Bluegill. The average length of Bluegill sampled was just over seven inches with fish up to 8.5 inches measured in the survey. Anglers can also expect good Largemouth Bass action. Bass over 12 inches are common with some larger-sized fish up to 20 inches. Black Crappie numbers are making a comeback and average 7.5 inches with a few over 10 inches. Northern pike numbers are the lowest they have been since the 1980's. With the lower abundance and an ample food source, pike have the potential to grow to larger sizes over time. We hope that this will be the case in Lake Martha. Pike sampled ranged in length from 18 to 33 inches with an average length and weight of 25 inches and just under four pounds. Walleye have not been stocked in the lake since 1989 and are quite rare. An angler looking for Walleye would need to rely more on luck than skill to catch one. Only two Walleye have ever been surveyed in Lake Martha over the last 36 years, one of which was sampled in 2022 and measured 22 inches. Other species that were seen in the survey were Brown Bullhead, Yellow Bullhead, Hybrid Sunfish, and Pumpkinseed.

Lake Martha is a 97-acre lake located two miles southwest of Hanover in Wright County. Seventy-four percent of the lake is littoral with 1.5 miles of shoreline. Lake Martha has a maximum depth of 25 feet and has one state owned public access located along the south shore. The last lake survey was conducted in 1996 with previous sampling conducted in 1961, 1978, 1980, 1986, and 1991. With water quality improving and no winter kill since 1978-79, the fishery in Lake Martha has changed from being dominated by black bullheads and crappies to that of northern pike, bluegill and largemouth bass. Largemouth bass were sampled by electrofishing on May 4, 2006. A total of 73 largemouth bass were sampled for a catch rate of nearly 71 fish/hr, which is higher than the average of 59 fish/hr for Montrose Area lakes. Largemouth bass sampled ranged from 5 to 20 inches with an average length of 13.7. Of the catchable size bass (greater than 8 inches), nearly 70 percent were greater than 12 inches. Growth rates of largemouth bass were similar to calculated statewide averages. The oldest largemouth sampled was 12 years old and 20 inches long. Northern pike were sampled at a rate of 14.3/gill net, which is above the range of expected values for lakes similar to Martha and similar to the last three surveys. Northern pike ranged in length from 14 - 34 inches. Estimated growth rates were similar to those calculated from statewide data. Based on this high level of abundance, Lake Martha should provide angling opportunities for above average size northern pike. Bluegill were caught at a rate of 74/trap net, nearly twice the rate observed in 1996. The average length of bluegill caught was 5.7 inches, and the largest bluegill sampled was slight over eight inches. Growth rates of bluegill were slower than statewide averages, reaching on average only seven inches by age nine. The catch rate of black crappie (3.7/trap net) was identical to that of 1996. Black crappie caught in trap nets set in 2006 ranged in size from 6 - 11 inches with an average of 7.5 inches. Growth rates of black crappie were slower than statewide averages taking ten years to attain a length of eight inches.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Largemouth Bass, Hybrid Sunfish, Northern Pike, Walleye, and Pumpkinseed in Martha. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Martha has a maximum depth of 22 feet and a mean depth of 7.9 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Martha is from 2022.

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