Name: Trout

Nearest Town: Grand Marais Primary County: Cook

Survey Date: 07/25/2011 Inventory Number: 16004900

Public Access Information

Ownership	Type	Description
US Forest Service	Carry-In	Carry-in access to NW corner of lake from USFS Rd. 308. Parking for four vehicles.

Lake Characteristics

Lake Area (acres): 259.32 Littoral Area (acres): 59 Maximum Depth (ft): 77 Water Clarity (ft): 17.2 (13-24.5)

Dominant Bottom Substrate: N/A Abundance of Aquatic Plants: N/A Maximum Depth of Plant Growth (ft): N/A

Fish Sampled for the 2011 Survey Year

Species	Gear Used	Number of fish per net		Average Fish Weight (lbs)	Normal Range (lbs)
		Caught	Normal Range
Brook Trout	Trap net	0.08	N/A	0.06	N/A
	Gill net	0.12	N/A	0.24	N/A
Creek Chub	Trap net	1.33	N/A	ND	N/A
	Gill net	0.12	N/A	ND	N/A
Golden Shiner	Trap net	1.92	0.1 - 1.6	ND	N/A
	Gill net	0.38	N/A	ND	N/A
Lake Trout	Gill net	2.25	0.8 - 4.3	1.25	1.2 - 3.1
Rainbow Smelt	Gill net	1.25	N/A	0.06	N/A
Rainbow Trout	Gill net	0.50	N/A	0.62	N/A
Yellow Perch	Trap net	3.50	0.3 - 2.3	0.14	0.1 - 0.4
	Gill net	2.88	0.3 - 2.8	0.17	0.1 - 0.2

Length of Selected Species (Trapnet, Gillnet) Sampled for the 2011 Survey Year

Species	Number of fish caught in each category (inches)
	0-5	6-8	9-11	12-14	15-19	20-24	25-29	30+	Total
brook trout	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
creek chub	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	17
golden shiner	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	26
lake trout	0	4	3	4	5	2	0	0	18
rainbow smelt	2	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	10
rainbow trout	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0	4
yellow perch	4	54	5	0	0	0	0	0	65

Fish Stocking Activity

Fish Stocked by Species for the Last Ten Years

Stocking Fish Sizes
Fry - Newly hatched fish that are ready to be stocked usually called "swim-ups". Walleye fry are 1/3 of an inch or around 8 mm.
Fingerling - Fingerlings are one to six months old and can range from a size of one to twelve inches depending on the species. Walleye fingerlings range from three to eight inches each fall.
Yearling - Yearling fish are at least one year old. A one-year-old fish can range from three to twenty inches depending on the species. Walleye yearlings average from six to twelve inches.
Adult - Adult fish are fish that have reached maturity. Depending on the species, maturity can be reached at two years of age. Walleye reach maturity between the ages of four and six years.

Fish Consumption Guidelines

These fish consumption guidelines help people make choices about which fish to eat and how often. Following the guidelin es enables people to reduce their exposure to contaminants while still enjoying the many benefits from fish.

Pregnant Women, Women who may become pregnant and Children under age 15

General Population

DOWID - MN DNR, Divion of Waters' lake ID number.

Contaminants listed were measured at levels that trigger advice to limit consumption.

Listing of consumption guidelines do not imply the fish are legal to keep, MN DNR fishing regulations should be consulted.

Dioxin
Mercury
PCBS - Polychlorinated biphenyls
PFOS - Perfluorooctane sulfanate

Status of the Fishery (as of 07/25/2011)

The lake trout gill net catch in 2011 was close to average for the lake class, but fell short of the long range goal for the species in the 2009 lake management plan (3.0 fish/set). The catch was the second lowest seen in this lake historically. Although the mean weight for lake trout taken in gill nets was at the low end of the normal range for the lake class, it was not unusually low for this lake. All lake trout collected in 2011 had been produced naturally. Several year classes were represented in the catch, although none appeared to have been exceptionally strong. Catches of one-year-old lake trout in small-mesh gill nets, and two-year-old fish in standard gill nets, were unusual, and may indicate unusual strength for those year classes. Growth of young lake trout had been slower than average; four-year-old fish reached an average length of just 10.7 inches by the end of their fourth year, compared to a mean of 12.1 inches in similar lakes.

The rainbow trout gill net catch was below the normal range for a stream trout lake in this area (1.00-6.25 fish/set in summer assessments), and was low for Trout Lake historically. It fell well short of the catch goal (3.0 fish/set) in the 2009 lake management plan. All of the rainbow trout taken in gill nets were one-year-old fish from the 2011 yearling stocking. There had been good growth of rainbow trout since their stocking; yearlings were stocked at an average weight of 0.32 lb/fish in the spring of 2011, and weighed an average of 0.62 lb/fish when collected in late July.

After falling to an all-time low in 2009 (0.5 fish/set), the rainbow smelt catch in small-mesh gill nets rebounded to 82.8 fish/set in 2011. Apparently a very strong year class was produced in 2009; two-year-old fish accounted for 82% of the catch in small-mesh gill nets. Few smelt older than two years were collected. Speculation (in the 2009 assessment report) that smelt could disappear from this lake eventually appears to have been premature. Smelt are an important forage base for lake trout in Trout Lake, but competition with smelt for invertebrate forage may be one reason growth of young lake trout has been slow.

Yellow perch were abundant but small in 2011, as has typically been the case in Trout Lake. Catches in standard gill nets and 0.75-in-mesh trap nets were above normal ranges for those gears. While gill net catches have fluctuated over the years, trap net catches have been fairly stable, showing no clear trend. The yellow perch population consisted mostly of two, three, and four-year-old fish; no yellow perch older than six years were collected. Yellow perch growth had been somewhat slower than average.

No undesirable fish species, and no species new to this lake, were collected in this assessment. No northern cisco were taken in any assessment done in 2011; however, the presence of a remnant population (while becoming increasingly unlikely) still cannot be ruled out. Invertebrate sampling using vertical plankton tows found no spiny waterflea in 2011.

For more information on this lake, contact: Area Fisheries Supervisor 1356 Hwy 61 E Grand Marais, MN 55604 Phone: (218) 387-3056 E-Mail: GrandMarais.Fisheries@state.mn.us	Lake maps can be obtained from: Minnesota Bookstore 660 Olive Street St. Paul, MN 55155 (651) 297-3000 or (800) 657-3757 To order, use C1606 for the map-id.
For general DNR Information, contact: DNR Information Center 500 Lafayette Road St. Paul, MN 55155-4040 TDD: (651) 296-6157 or (888) MINNDNR Internet: www.dnr.state.mn.us E-Mail: info.dnr@state.mn.us	Turn in Poachers (TIP):     Toll-free: (800) 652-9093