Mary Lake

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Mary Lake is located in south-central Wright County. It is 180 acres in size, with a maximum depth of 46 feet. The lake has an access owned by a local club, and it is open to public use. A full resurvey was conducted during 2001, which included electrofishing, gillnetting, trapnetting, seining, and a vegetation survey. Specialized sampling was also done at ice-out to assess game fish populations, particularly northern pike. Northern pike is a primary management species for Mary Lake, and a northern pike spawning area was used until the early 1990s. Catch rates of pike in previous surveys have been variable, and were low in 2001. However, average size was high (4.4 pounds), with some pike as large as 32 inches. An estimate of the pike population was made following the netting at ice-out. For pike 20 - 32 inches, there were approximately 240 individuals, or 1.3 per acre. Lower density pike populations tend to produce larger individuals. Practicing catch-and-release, especially of large pike, is important to maintain the favorable size structure of the population. Mary Lake has also been managed for walleye. Prior to the early 1990s the lake was stocked regularly by the state DNR. Because the lake lacks a state-owned public access, however, walleye are now stocked by the lake association. Fingerlings were stocked most recently in 1999 and 2001. The catch rate in 2001 was typical for lakes similar to Mary. Most of the walleye sampled during the ice-out survey came from the 1989 to 1991 year classes (21-26 inches), and were growing slowly. Walleye sampled during the summer netting were generally smaller, and many came from the 1999 stocking (10-13 inches). With lower numbers of northern pike than in the past, walleye stocking may now be more successful. However, low numbers of yellow perch will probably continue to limit growth rates of walleye. A large number of black crappie were sampled during the ice-out assessment, and many were large. Black crappie ranged in length from 4 inches to nearly 16 inches, with a mean length of 8 inches. An especially strong 1998 year class was evident (7 inches, on average). Catch rates during the summer survey of Mary Lake were much lower than at ice-out, and lower than in previous summer surveys. However, crappie are often difficult to sample during summer netting, and the 2001 catch rate may underestimate their abundance. Growth rates for black crappie appeared to be above average. White crappie were also sampled during the ice-out and summer surveys, in lower numbers than black crappie. Some of the largest crappie sampled during the assessment may have actually been hybrids of the two species. Hybrid crappie typically have higher growth rates, and sometimes reach a larger size. The catch rate of bluegill during the summer survey was lower than in previous years, but within the normal range for the lake class. Bluegill ranged from 3 to 7 inches, with a mean length of 5 inches. The average size of bluegills sampled during the ice-out netting was higher, with several individuals larger than 8 inches. Growth rates of bluegill appeared slow. The population of largemouth bass in Mary Lake appeared large and healthy in 2001. During spring electrofishing, bass were captured at a rate well above average for the Montrose area. Nearly half of the bass sampled were larger than 12 inches, and several were larger than 15 inches. During the ice-out netting, bass up to 20 inches were caught. Growth of bass appeared slow compared to other lakes in the area, and some may be 15 years or older. Catch-and-release is important to maintain high numbers of larger bass, given the length of time required for bass to reach that size. Other species sampled during the 2001 surveys included black bullhead, brown bullhead, yellow bullhead, common carp, hybrid sunfish, green sunfish, pumkinseed sunfish, golden shiner, spottail shiner, and white sucker.

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