Ml-Ditch 36 Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Ml-Ditch 36 Lake grades a B, with clarity at 11.9 ft and 24 µg/L of phosphorus placing it above the Minnesota median. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. The lake bottoms out at 42 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 128,250 acres, Ml-Ditch 36 Lake is one of the larger lakes in Aitkin County, with 105.5 miles of shoreline supporting multiple distinct use patterns. Ml-Ditch 36 Lake ranks 25 of 53 in Aitkin County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Zebra mussel presence at Ml-Ditch 36 Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Muskie are on the species list at Ml-Ditch 36 Lake, alongside the lake's 21 other documented fish. A documented public access point at Ml-Ditch 36 Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a long ice-out record — 105 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Apr 25. The grade is supported by multiple sampling years from Minnesota PCA volunteers and partner agencies, giving the letter a reasonably stable foundation.