Round

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Round Lake was conducted on July 7, 2022 by Aitkin Area Fisheries Staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot seine. Backpack electrofishing and seine hauls were completed at all fourteen sampling stations. Nearshore sampling captured 13 species of fish including three species that are intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Banded Killifish, Blacknose Shiner, and Iowa Darter) and none that were tolerant of disturbance. The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from a June 2022 survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Iowa Darter and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Green Sunfish and Black Bullhead). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Data from this survey indicates the fish community of Round Lake is in good health as indicated by an FIBI score above the impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. Data from this survey will contribute biological information about the health of the fish community to the Mississippi River-Grand Rapids Watershed assessment process in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency.

Round Lake is located about 5 miles northwest of Tamarack in Aitkin County. It is popular with recreational users because of its clear water and abundant sandy beaches. There is a public access with a concrete log ramp and swimming area on the north shore and a Wildlife Management Area along much of the south shore. The lake is managed primarily for Walleye and Northern Pike, with Largemouth Bass and Bluegill as secondary species. Walleye were first stocked into the lake in 1952, and have been stocked regularly since about 1982, at various rates and frequencies. Walleye abundance (2.1/gill net) was similar to previous assessments, but remains below the normal range for similar lakes, and below the management goal of 3/gill net. The mean length was 16.4 inches, meeting the size goal for the lake. There were 6 age classes represented, which also meets the goal in the management plan. When available, larger sized fingerlings, yearlings, or adults are desirable to be stocked in Round Lake to help reduce predation from abundant and small Northern Pike. The lake has a reputation for abundant Northern Pike with poor size structure and the 2022 fisheries survey again supports this perception. Northern Pike abundance has dropped some from an average of over 19/per gill net seen between 1997 and 2012. The last two surveys have been a bit lower at 12.6/gill net in 2017 and 14.8/gill net in 2022. As is typical for this lake, size structure remained poor with an average length of just 16 inches and an average weight of 0.9 pounds. No fish were larger than 26 inches and only 2 of 133 fell within the 22-26 inch protected slot, which did not meet the management objective for the lake. This scenario has played out in previous surveys and 2022 was no different, suggesting that the long-term goal listed in the plan to reduce the catch of Northern Pike to 6/gill net with 25% greater than 24" may not be attainable. The new zone regulations do offer more promise for changing the Northern Pike size structure, but it may be many years to see those effects. Standard trap nets captured Bluegill at a rate of 15.5/net and is within the expected range for similar lakes, but below the long-term average for the lake of about 30/net. Sizes ranged from 5.0 to 9.1 inches with an average of 6.7 inches. The size structure has shown improvements in the previous two surveys. In addition to true Bluegills, Hybrid Sunfish are also available to anglers and offer a decent size distribution, with fish nearing 9 inches observed in this survey. Black Crappie also provide anglers with opportunities to harvest panfish. Crappie are not overly abundant and net catches were nearly identical to the previous survey. The size structure was respectable with a mean length of 7.7 inches and a maximum length of just over 10.0 inches. Yellow Perch showed up again in the gill net catch for the second survey in a row after being absent or nearly so for 20 years. They were caught at a rate of 2.2/gill net. Improvements to Yellow Perch populations are important for managing Northern Pike and Walleye, as well as panfish. Spring night electrofishing was conducted to assess the Largemouth Bass population. The catch rate of 140/hr is higher than previous surveys and considered a high catch rate for a lake in this area. This is consistent with a general trend of increasing abundance in the standard gill nets and trap nets. Sizes in the electrofishing sample ranged from 5.4 to 15.6 inches with an average of 11.6 inches. One fish over 16 inches was also observed in the trap net sample.

Round Lake is located about 5 miles northwest of Tamarack in Aitkin County. It is popular with recreational users because of its clear water and abundant sandy beaches. There is a public access with a concrete log ramp and swimming area on the north shore. The lake is managed primarily for walleye and northern pike with largemouth bass and bluegill as secondary species. Walleye were first stocked into the lake in 1952, and have been stocked regularly since about 1982, at various rates and frequencies. Walleye abundance (1.9/gill net) was similar to previous assessments, but remains below the normal range for similar lakes, and below the management goal of 3/gill net. The mean length was 17.9 inches, meeting the size goal for the lake. There were 7 age classes represented, which also meets the goal in the management plan. All age classes appear to be from stocked years. When available, larger sized fingerlings, yearlings, or adults are desirable to be stocked in Round Lake to help reduce predation from abundant and small northern pike. The lake has a reputation for abundant northern pike with poor size structure and the 2017 fisheries survey again supports this perception. Northern pike abundance did drop substantially from 20.0/gill net in 2012, to 12.6/gill net in 2017. Prior to this decrease the average gill net catch rate for pike was approximately 19/gill net going back to the late 1990's. As is typical for this lake, size structure remained poor with an average length of just 16 inches and an average weight of 0.9 pounds. Only 2 percent were larger than 24 inches, which falls short of the management goal for the lake. The long-term goal listed in the plan to reduce the catch to 6/gill net with 25% greater than 24 inches may not have been attainable with recent regulation scenarios. The new zone regulations do offer more promise for changing the northern pike size structure. Standard trap nets captured bluegill at a rate of 16.8/net and is within the expected range for similar lakes, but below the long term average for the lake of about 30/net. Sizes ranged from 4.1 to 8.5 inches with an average of 7.0 inches and fifty eight percent were greater than 7 inches. The size structure has shown improvements from the previous two surveys. In addition to true bluegills, numbers of hybrid sunfish are also available to anglers and offer a better size distribution, with fish exceeding 9 inches observed in this survey. Black crappie also provide anglers with opportunities to harvest panfish. Crappie are not overly abundant and net catches were nearly identical to the previous survey. The size structure was respectable with a mean length of 8.3 inches and a maximum length of 12.1 inches. Yellow perch showed up again in the gill net catch after being absent for 20 years. They were caught at a rate of 2/net. Improvements to yellow perch populations are important for managing northern pike and walleye, as well as panfish. Spring night electrofishing was conducted to assess the largemouth bass population. The catch rate of 88/hr is similar to the results from the previous survey and considered a good catch rate for a lake in this area. Sizes ranged from 7.5 to 16.9 inches with an average of 12.6 inches.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Largemouth Bass, Walleye, Hybrid Sunfish, Yellow Perch, and Black Crappie in Round. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

We don't have a confirmed public access point on record for Round. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for current access details before you go.

Round has a maximum depth of 27 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Round is from 2022.

No invasive species are on record for Round in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.