Margaret Lake (Cass County, DOW 11022200)
Cass County, Minnesota - DNR stocking history, depth and survey data
Minnesota · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) · DOW 11022200
Margaret Lake (Cass County, DOW 11022200) has no DNR stocking rows in LakeFinder; this page carries its DNR depth, access and survey data.
- Margaret Lake (Cass County, DOW 11022200) shows no stocking records in Minnesota DNR LakeFinder as of .
- Maximum depth 26 ft; surface area 251 acres, 64 littoral acres, 5.5 miles of shoreline, per the DNR lake survey.
- Average water clarity (Secchi depth) 6.4 ft.
- Fish species DNR lists here: black crappie, bluegill, bowfin (dogfish), brown bullhead, common carp, greater redhorse, green sunfish, hybrid sunfish, largemouth bass, northern pike, pumpkinseed, rock bass, and 5 more.
- 1 public access on the DNR list.
- Most recent DNR fish survey: (standard survey).
- Cass County, nearest town Nisswa; DNR lake number (DOW) 11022200.
Depth map
Bathymetric contours from the Minnesota DNR lake survey mapped 7/1/1958 (orig map); depths in feet. Simplified for the web; not for navigation.
Public accesses
| Type | Owner | Where |
|---|---|---|
| C | - | - Channel at bridge on Co. Rd. 77. |
DNR fish survey, 2025
| Species | Gear | Catch per net | Total catch | Avg lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | Standard trap nets | 19.11 | 172 | 0.13 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard trap nets | 4.44 | 40 | 0.85 |
| Pumpkinseed | Standard trap nets | 1.67 | 15 | 0.20 |
| Bowfin (dogfish) | Standard trap nets | 0.89 | 8 | 6.10 |
| Yellow perch | Standard trap nets | 0.78 | 7 | 0.16 |
| Northern pike | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 2.63 |
| Hybrid sunfish | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.31 |
| Black crappie | Standard trap nets | 0.56 | 5 | 0.32 |
| Yellow perch | Standard gill nets | 17.00 | 102 | 0.08 |
| Northern pike | Standard gill nets | 8.83 | 53 | 2.63 |
| Bluegill | Standard gill nets | 8.17 | 49 | 0.20 |
| Yellow bullhead | Standard gill nets | 2.17 | 13 | 0.88 |
| White sucker | Standard gill nets | 2.17 | 13 | 1.82 |
| Black crappie | Standard gill nets | 2.00 | 12 | 0.18 |
| Tullibee (cisco) | Standard gill nets | 1.33 | 8 | 1.20 |
| Walleye | Standard gill nets | 1.17 | 7 | 4.08 |
Catch per net (CPUE) is the DNR survey's count per gill net or trap net set; higher means more of that species were sampled, not a fishing forecast. Top species per gear shown; where we have no verified common name for a DNR code, the code itself is shown.
Margaret Lake is a 222-acre lake near the city of Nisswa in Cass County. It is part of the Gull Lake Chain of Lakes, with access possible through a navigable channel connection from Upper Gull. Northern Pike is the primary management species and a special regulation is used to achieve our management objective on the chain of lakes. The special regulation requires the immediate release of all Northern Pike between 30 and 40 inches, with a possession limit of two and only one allowed over 40 inches. A standard survey using gill nets and trap nets was conducted in June 2025 to assess fish populations and provide angler information. Northern Pike numbers met our management goal (8.8 per net), with fish up to 37 inches captured. Anglers should have good opportunities to harvest fish with 96% of the fish below the 30 to 40 inch protected slot. Releasing larger pike is encouraged, however, to help create more opportunities for trophy fish. Panfish numbers were down a bit from previous surveys. While anglers can still expect to catch Bluegill or Black Crappie, size was lacking. Only 22% of the Bluegill were 7 inches or larger. While Crappies faired a little better for those looking to get a meal, with 47% measuring 8 inches or larger, don't expect a trophy. Only 12% of the Black Crappie were 9 inches or larger and only two over 10 inches have been caught in the last four surveys. Walleyes aren't stocked into Margaret, but they seem to show up in every survey in low numbers; 1.2 per net in 2025. Most of the fish were large, with 71% over 20 inches. With fish up to 27.1 inches sampled, Margaret shows potential for trophy Walleyes. Yellow Perch numbers have been rising (17.0 per net in 2025), but with a maximum length of 8.2 inches, they won't be of much interest to anglers. Yellow Perch and Tullibee (Cisco), which were caught in low numbers (1.3 per net), are an important prey species for gamefish. Other species sampled included Bowfin (Dogfish), Brown Bullhead, Common Carp, Golden Shiner, Greater Redhorse, Hybrid Sunfish, Largemouth Bass, Pumpkinseed, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead.
Minnesota DNR survey narrative, .
All Minnesota stockings · every Minnesota lake with a page · state CSV · this lake on DNR LakeFinder
Hear when the states we cover post stockings
One email a week in season: which waters in the states we cover were stocked, straight from the state agencies' own postings. No spam, no fishing-gear ads in the mail.
Free · double opt-in · unsubscribe anytime · we store only your email.