Kraut Lake

How big is Kraut Lake?

How deep is Kraut Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Kraut Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Kraut Lake?

Kraut Lake is a small remote stream trout lake 25 miles by road from Grand Marais. Access is difficult. Kraut Lake has been managed for stream trout since 2004. Through 2017 it was one of the "Trophy Trout" lakes in the Grand Marais area, managed as a catch-and-release only fishery. The lake was closed to winter fishing, and anglers were limited to artificial lures and flies only, with a single hook only, with no bait allowed. Special regulations on this lake were reviewed in 2017, and will be dropped effective March 1 2018.

This survey was the second of two scheduled in the 2010 lake management plan to determine whether Brook Trout stocked in the lake had survived, and to determine whether there were any signs of public use. Observations by sampling crews in those two surveys suggested use had been almost zero under the special regulation - a key reason for dropping that regulation.

The 2017 survey collected four Brook Trout in one gill net set. Sampling effort was kept very low to avoid excess losses of high-quality trout the lake was suspected of supporting. Brook Trout captured ranged in length from 14.4 to 19.3 inches. All were mature female fish in excellent condition. Netting effort in 2017 was too low to allow assessment of the catch goal from the 2010 plan; however, the size goal in that plan (some fish over 16 inches present) was met. The catch consisted of three- and five-year-old fish, indicating good long-term survival. Growth appeared to have been about average; fish reached a mean length of 13.4 inches at the end of their third year, compared to an area average of 12.7 inches.

No Rainbow Trout (stocked in 2016) were taken in the 2017 survey. Fish from that stocking should have been vulnerable to sampling gear used in 2017; however, Rainbow Trout have been harder to sample in area stream trout lakes than Brook Trout, and it would be easy to miss a single year class, when using just a single net. It is also possible that large Brook Trout present in this lake preyed on stocked Rainbow Trout, as they have been known to do in other area lakes.

Anglers have reported some difficulty finding Kraut Lake. To reach it from Grand Marais, travel 15.9 miles north on the Gunflint Trail (Co. Rd. 12); then 4 miles northeast on the Greenwood Lake Road (USFS 309); then 4 miles north on the Shoe Lake Road (USFS 313); then 0.6 miles west on a logging access road (USFS 313I). From a parking area at the end of that road, take a 0.8-mile carry-in trail to Cucumber Lake, travel by water to the extreme northwest end of Cucumber Lake, then portage 210 yards along the Cucumber Lake outlet, then over the ridge to Kraut Lake. The portage trail has been only minimally cleared, and is poorly marked.

Are there any state parks near Kraut Lake?