Round

Round Lake is a 502-acre lake located 18 miles southeast of Bigfork, Minnesota in the Mississippi River watershed. There is a county-owned public access on the north side of the lake with limited parking. Most of the shoreline is privately-owned and relatively developed. Round Lake has moderate fertility and clear water. The Fisheries Lake Management Plan (LMP) was last updated in 2016. Walleye were considered the primary management species while Northern Pike and Largemouth Bass were considered secondary management species. Walleye are actively managed via stocking of Mississippi strain fingerlings every fourth year. A targeted survey utilizing nine gill nets was conducted in July 2022 to collect updated information on the fishery. Yellow Perch are an important prey species in Minnesota lakes. Round Lake has generally had relatively high perch numbers compared to similar lakes. The 2022 gill-net catch (17.1/net) was above average compared to similar type lakes, but typical for Round. Perch were generally too small to be of interest to anglers, ranging from 5.7 to 9.6 inches with an average length of 7.3 inches. Walleye were sampled at a catch rate of 6.3/gill net. This was an above average catch for the lake and met the LMP goal. The sample was predominantly "eater-sized" Walleye. Fish ranged from 7.4 to 22.6 inches with an average length of 14.6 inches. Eight ages from 1 to 13 were represented in the sample. A stocked year-class (2017, age 5) was the most frequently sampled. Growth was considered average. Walleye averaged 14.9 inches after 5 years of growth. Round Lake appears to provide good fishing opportunities for Walleye. Conditions should be favorable for Walleye management if perch numbers remain healthy. Northern Pike were sampled at 4.0/gill net. This was an average catch for the lake and similar type lakes. Size structure was favorable. Pike ranged from 13.6 to 37.9 inches with an average length of 25.7 inches. Ages 1 through 10 were identified in the sample with no dominant year class. Growth was good compared to the statewide average. Pike averaged 25.1 inches after four years of growth. Round Lake provides good angling opportunities for Northern Pike with a chance to catch fish exceeding 30 inches. Anglers are encouraged to release pike over 26 inches to maintain the quality size structure. Black Crappie catch rates have generally been low in past surveys. The 2022 gill-net catch rate (3.7/net) was above average for the lake and compared to similar lakes. Crappie size structure was good. Sampled crappie ranged from 6.2 to 13.8 inches with an average length of 11.1 inches. Ages 2 through 8 were represented, but a majority of fish in the sample were age-5 and older. Growth was fast compared to the statewide average. Crappie averaged 9.9 inches after 4 years. Round Lake appears to provide good angling opportunities for Black Crappie. Largemouth Bass were captured in relatively high numbers from gill nets, as the catch of 5.4/net was above the expected range for similar lakes. The sample was dominated by small bass less than 10 inches long. Fish ranged from 5.9 to 15.9 inches with an average length of 9.5 inches. Largemouth Bass are often not sampled well with standard netting, so the presence of numbers of bass in the gill nets suggests they are an important component of the fishery. Fair angling opportunities appear to exist for bass, at least for numbers of smaller-sized fish. Other species sampled in test nets included Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, Rock Bass, White Sucker and Yellow Bullhead.

Round Lake is about 18 miles southeast of Bigfork, Minnesota. The lake has one public access on the north with limited parking. The 2007 lake management plan (LMP) indicates Walleye and Largemouth Bass as the primary species of management with Black Crappie and Northern Pike as secondary species. The LMP goals include maintaining the Walleye gill-net catch at 6.0/net; maintain a Largemouth Bass electrofishing catch of 40/hr (on-time), and increase the Black Crappie catch to 1.0/trap net. A standard survey was conducted in July of 2015 to assess the fish community. A total of 9 gill nets and 9 trap nets were used in the survey as well as spring night electrofishing for Largemouth Bass. The Walleye population appears to have been established by stocking in the 1980s. Although infrequent stockings have continued, natural reproduction has been pronounced in the last four surveys. In 2015, at least 53% of the sampled Walleye were the result of natural reproduction. Walleye catch rates have ranged from 0 to 12.4 fish/gill net since 1961. The catch of 7.9 fish/gill net in 2015 exceeded the management goal of 6.0 fish/net. The sampled fish ranged from 9.0 to 25.3 inches and had a mean length of 14.0 inches. Eleven age-classes from age 1 to 12 were identified by scale, opercle and otolith analysis. Age-2 and 3 fish were the most commonly captured, representing 58% of the sample. Walleye averaged 13.5 inches at age 4, which was similar to the statewide averages. Largemouth Bass were sampled with spring night electrofishing for the fourth time since 1993. The catch has ranged from 15.7 to 45.0 fish/hr and was 31.9/hr in 2015. The LMP goal was not achieved in 2015. The sampled fish ranged from 7.2 to 18.7 inches and had a mean length of 13.2 inches. Nine year-classes were identified from scales with fish from age 2 to 10 present. There was no one dominant year class. Growth was similar to statewide averages for all ages. Fish averaged 14.7 inches after five years of growth. Black Crappie catch rates have been low in all surveys, ranging from 0 to 1.8 fish/trap net. In 2015, the catch was 0.1 fish/trap net, which is below normal for similar types of lakes. There was a 6 and 12 inch fish sampled that were two and five years old, respectively. The poor recrutiment and limited spawning habitat led to the two southern bays being closed to spring fishing. The goal was to reduce harvest of Black Crappie while they are concentrated and staging to spawn. Northern Pike gill-net catch rates have range from 0.6 to 14.1 fish/net since 1961. Following the lowest catch on record (0.6 fish/net) in 2006, the catch improved to 2.2 fish/net in 2015. The sampled fish ranged from 19.4 to 39.2 inches and had a mean length of 26.9 inches. Five year-classes were identified with fish from age 2 to age 6 present. Age classes were evenly distributed suggesting low but consistent recruitment. Growth was good compared to statewide averages. Northern Pike averaged 26.9 inches after four years of growth. Yellow Perch catches have been high compared to other lakes similar to Round. Catches have ranged from 5.0 to 67.8/gill net and was 15.9 fish/gill net in 2015. The sampled fish ranged from 5.7 to 9.0 inches and averaged 6.4 inches. Due to the Yellow Perch size structure, they are probably more important within the fish community as a prey source than as a species desired by anglers. Other species observed during the survey included Bluegill, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Rock Bass, and White Sucker. In order to maintain or improve fish and wildlife populations, water quality and habitat must be protected. People often associate water quality problems with large-scale agricultural, forestry, urban development or industrial practices in the watershed. In reality, the impact of land use decisions on one lake lot may be relatively small, yet the cumulative impact of those decisions on many lake lots can result in a significant decline in water quality and habitat. For example, removing shoreline and aquatic vegetation, fertilizing lawns, mowing to the water's edge, installing beach sand blankets, failing septic systems and uncontrolled run-off, all contribute excess nutrients and sediment which degrade water quality and habitat. Understanding these cumulative impacts and taking steps to avoid or minimize them will help to insure our quality fisheries can be enjoyed by future generations.

Round Lake is a 502-acre lake located 18 miles southeast of Bigfork, MN. The lake has a maximum depth of 40 ft and a littoral area of 239 acres. Round Lake is in lake class 32 and has a public access on the north shore. Sand shoreline, clear water, and an abundant walleye population characterize the lake. Walleye gill-net catch was 12.4/net, which was five times higher than the expected range for similar lakes. The walleye population has been steadily increasing since walleye fingerling stocking began in 1984. Catch rates in past assessments have varied from 0 in 1961 to 9.2/net in 1999. Size structure was dominated by several strong year classes of fish less than 15 inches, but larger fish up to 25 inches were sampled. Growth was similar to the statewide average with fish averaging 20 inches by age 6. Recent walleye stocking occurred in 2001 and 2005 when fingerlings and frylings were stocked, respectively. The 2001-year class did not appear to contribute more to the population than nonstocked years before or after 2001. However, Round Lake has experienced a great deal of fishing pressure in recent years and it may be that angler harvest has reduced this year class. The 2005 stocked year class appears to be a large year class, but may be much larger because their small size limits our sampling effectiveness. Large natural year classes in 2002 and 2004 will also provide excellent fishing over the next several years. In general, natural reproduction is excellent and is the major contributor to the current fishery. The northern pike population remains low with a gill-net catch of 0.6/net, which was lower than the expected range. Catch rates in past assessments have been highly variable from 1.8 to 14.1/gill net in past assessments. Although abundance was low, size structure was good with fish up to 39 inches sampled. Low northern pike abundance may be partially responsible for the high walleye catch rates in past assessments through reduced predation and competition for prey. Although some anglers may wish for higher northern pike abundance, most area lakes suffer from an overabundance of small northern pike. The current low abundance has more advantages than disadvantages. The bluegill trap-net catch rate was 5.3/net and was lower than the expected range. Catch rates in past assessments have been higher and have varied from 20.0 to 102.4/net. Size structure was good for fish greater than 6 inches, but poor for fish larger than 8 inches. The black crappie population was low with only three fish sampled in this assessment for a catch rate of 0.3/trap net. Catch rates in past assessments have also been low varying from 0 to 1.8/trap net. Two small bays have recently been closed to fishing in the spring to reduce harvest and increase the black crappie population. Largemouth bass were sampled using night electrofishing for a catch rate of 15.7/hour. The catch rate in this assessment was lower than past assessments in 1993 and 1999, which had catch rates of 45 and 41/h of electrofishing. Sampling conditions were windy reducing visibility, which may have reduced catch rates. Angler harvest of largemouth bass is generally low and the lower catch rate is likely due to natural variability or poor sampling conditions. This low-density population had good size structure with fish up to 17 inches sampled. Growth was similar to the statewide average. Yellow perch gill-net catch was 19.1/gill net and was higher than the expected range. Catch rates in past assessments have been highly variable ranging from 5.0 to 67.8/gill net. Size structure was poor with few fish greater than 9 inches sampled. Other fish sampled include, pumpkinseed sunfish, rock bass, white sucker, and yellow bullhead.

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

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Round. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Round has a maximum depth of 40 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.