Note: I only pulled out muskellunge snippets for this post. Use the link to read full report and Figure 1 for the lake map.

Lake Margrethe
Crawford County, T26N, R4W, Sec. 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22
Manistee River Watershed. Last surveyed May 7-10, 2007

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Mark A. Tonello

Environment

Lake Margrethe is a 1,922 acre lake (Figure 1) in western Crawford County, three miles west of Grayling, MI. It is the largest lake in Crawford County. Lake Margrethe lies in the Manistee River watershed, having Portage Creek as an outlet. Portage Creek joins the Manistee River approximately seven miles downstream from where it flows out of Lake Margrethe. There is a lake level control structure on the Portage Creek outflow to control the lake level, which has been set by Circuit Court order. Lake Margrethe is a mesotrophic lake, with a maximum depth of 65 feet. The northern lobes of the lake (Figure 1) are relatively shallow, with the central portion of the lake holding the deeper water. The Lake Margrethe Property Owner's Association (LMPOA) is the primary citizen-based group for Lake Margrethe. LMPOA was incorporated in 1968 and has been very involved in Lake Margrethe management since then.

History

Since 1995, a total of thirteen fish have been entered in MDNR's Master Angler program from Lake Margrethe. The northern muskellunge was a particularly impressive specimen, 49.0 inches in length and weighing 35.31 lbs. This fish was caught in 2000, and it likely came from the 1990 stocking effort in which 151 northern muskellunge were stocked into Lake Margrethe.

Current Status

The most recent fisheries survey of Lake Margrethe took place between May 7th and May 10th, 2007. Thirteen northern muskellunge were also caught in the 2007 survey, ranging from 26-40 inches in length.

Analysis and Discussion

The northern muskellunge caught in the 2007 survey showed particularly impressive growth. Two year classes were represented in the catch (ages 3 and 5), and they exceeded the state average length at age by 2.2 inches. The catch of 13 northern muskellunge in the 2007 survey is very encouraging. It confirms that the muskellunge stocking program, which began in 2002, has been successful. The muskellunge are growing very well and seem to be thriving in Lake Margrethe. The muskellunge caught in the 2007 survey were from the 2002 and 2004 year classes, both of which were stocking years. No muskellunge from non-stocking years were caught in the 2007 survey. Angler reports have begun to filter in regarding anglers going to Lake Margrethe specifically to target muskellunge. The northern muskellunge stocking program has established a viable fishery for northern muskellunge where none existed previously.

Management Direction

The recently established Lake Margrethe northern muskellunge fishery is also entirely dependent upon stocking. No natural reproduction was documented in the 2007 survey. Therefore, fall fingerling northern muskellunge should also continue to be stocked into Lake Margrethe at a rate of 2/acre (4,000 fish) every other year, beginning in 2008. Another netting survey should be conducted on Lake Margrethe within the next 5-10 years. The goals of the survey should be to examine the general fish populations of Lake Margrethe, and also to assess the adult walleye and northern muskellunge populations. The survey should also assess whether or not the northern muskellunge have begun to naturally reproduce.