Little Mantrap Lake

Little Mantrap Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Hubbard County. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Trophically, Little Mantrap Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. At 54 ft of maximum depth, Little Mantrap Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. Little Mantrap Lake covers 381 acres alongside 9.2 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Hubbard County's 77 graded waters, Little Mantrap Lake sits at rank 8, near the top of the local distribution.

Little Mantrap Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 13 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at Little Mantrap Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a partial ice record — 22 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 21. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.