Olga Lake

How big is Olga Lake?

How deep is Olga Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Olga Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Olga Lake?

Olga is a designated stream trout lake that has been managed for Brook Trout or Splake since 1971. Splake (1,000 fingerlings/stocking) have been stocked in this lake annually since 1994. This was the first of two surveys scheduled in the current (2014) lake management plan to determine whether goals for the Splake population have been met, and whether the lake continues to provide the cool, well-oxygenated waters needed by Splake and Brook Trout.

Splake appeared to have been fairly abundant in 2016, although most were small. Goals for Splake in this lake were met in 2016, although not by a wide margin. The gill net catch exceeded 5.0 fish/set, at least two year classes of fish over 10 inches in length were present (actually four), and the capture of one fish larger than 16 inches met the goal of producing some fish of that size in this lake. Long-term survival of stocked fish appeared to have been good, with Splake as old as six years taken. Growth, however, had been slow. Fish reached a mean length of just 11.0 inches at the end of their third year, compared to an area average of 12.8 inches.

Competition from White Sucker may have contributed to the slow Splake growth observed in 2016. White Sucker have been present in this lake since at least 1971, and the 2016 gill net catch was similar to past catches seen in Olga Lake. The 2016 gill net catch exceeded the normal range (2.83-14.83 fish/net) for surveys of stream trout lakes in this area, suggesting White Sucker abundance may have been excessive.

Poor water quality may also have driven slow Splake growth. The temperature-oxygen profile measured on 17 August 2016 found conditions suitable for Splake (water temperature < 68 F, dissolved oxygen > 5 ppm) in just a narrow range of depths (about 6.5 to 7.5 ft). As has often been observed in deeply bog-stained lakes like Olga, the transition from warm surface waters to colder deep waters was shallow and abrupt, with cold waters at depths greater than nine feet essentially lacking oxygen entirely. Although Olga Lake is over 40 ft deep, most of that water is unavailable to trout by the end of the summer.

Are there any state parks near Olga Lake?