Indian

Indian Lake is a 204-acre, class 43 lake, located to the southwest of the City of Round Lake in Nobles County. Indian Lake has a maximum depth of 6.0 ft. Runoff from surrounding agricultural fields has resulted in poor water quality in Indian Lake. Despite its shallowness, Indian Lake rarely experiences low dissolved oxygen levels in the winter; however, during the winter of 2022 and 2023 Indian Lake experienced low dissolved oxygen levels throughout much of the winter (less than 0.6 ppm). Indian Lake is managed primarily for black and white crappie, and secondarily for walleye and northern pike. To evaluate the success of the Walleye fry stocking that was done in the spring of 2023, boat electrofishing was used to capture fingerling Walleye on September 21, 2023, to determine their abundance. Following the winterkill Walleye fry were stocked because they typically do very well in these conditions. The catch rate of Young of the year Walleye was 672.0 per hour, suggesting that the stocking was highly successful. Lengths of YOY walleye ranged from 4.5 to 6.7 inches and averaged 5.3 inches. This abundant year class of a top-level predator should help keep undesirable species of fish in check.

Indian Lake is a 204-acre, class 43 lake, located to the southwest of the City of Round Lake in Nobles County. Indian Lake has a maximum depth of 6.0 ft. Despite its shallowness, Indian Lake rarely experiences low dissolved oxygen levels; however, the winter of 2022-2023 was harsh with cold temperatures and a lot of snow, depleting dissolved oxygen levels below 0.7 parts per million in February and March of 2023. Indian Lake is managed primarily for Black and White Crappie, and secondarily for Walleye and Northern Pike. A winterkill check was conducted on May 16, 2023 using boat electrofishing to determine the extent of the winterkill at Indian Lake. Indian Lake had a diverse fish community with 13 species of fish sampled in the 2022 standard survey. During the 2023 winterkill check Fathead Minnows were the only species sampled at a rate of 251.3 per hour. Indian Lake suffered a severe winterkill that greatly altered the fish community. Indian Lake was stocked with 204,000 Walleye fry and pre-spawn adult Black Crappie in the spring of 2023 to reestablish populations. While it did experience a significant winterkill, the outlet of Indian Lake is directly connected to the Little Sioux River. This connectivity likely allowed some broodstock of various fish species soon after Indian Lake became ice free.

Indian Lake is a 204-acre lake, located to the southwest of the City of Round Lake in Nobles County. Indian Lake has a maximum depth of 6.0 ft. Runoff from surrounding agricultural fields has resulted in poor water quality in Indian Lake. Despite its shallowness, Indian Lake rarely experiences low dissolved oxygen levels in the winter which has allowed a diverse fish community to establish. Indian Lake is connected to the Little Sioux River Watershed along with a water control structure that allows fish passage during high water. These factors likely contribute to the diverse fishery. Indian Lake is managed primarily for Black and White Crappie, and secondarily for Walleye and Northern Pike. A standard survey was conducted during the week of May 23, 2022 to monitor the fish community in Indian Lake. The 2022 White Crappie catch rate was 2.0 per trap net, which is the lowest catch rate ever recorded on Indian Lake. Historically, White Crappie abundance has exceeded the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (0.3 to 6.0 per trap net) in every survey since 2000. The water during the 2022 survey was uncharacteristically clear (Secchi depth of 4.0 ft.) which may have affected the catch of White Crappie in trap nets. Lengths of White Crappie ranged from 11.1 to 12.6 inches and averaged 11.9 inches. Despite abundance of White Crappie being lower than usual, the size of the fish was impressive and should provide a quality angling opportunity. The Black Crappie catch rate was also low in 2022, at 0.7 per trap net, which is below the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (1.2 to 20.5 per trap net). Typically, when Black and White Crappie are found in the same lake, one species or the other will dominate over time. In Indian Lake, it appears that the White Crappie have "won the battle", as Black Crappie catch rates have been low since 2010. Lengths of Black Crappie were large, ranging from 11.4 inches to 13.2 inches and averaging 12.2 inches. The 2022 Walleye catch rate was 3.3 per gill net, a decrease from the 2018 catch rate of 9.7 per gill net, but within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (2.3 to 18.1 per gill net). Indian Lake has been stocked extensively with Walleye fingerlings and yearlings in the last decade. The decrease in catch rate could be a result of the clear water during the survey, where Walleye may have avoided the net because they could see it. Lengths of Walleye ranged from 16.0 to 23.6 inches and averaged 17.7 inches. Age-3, age-4, and age-7 Walleye were sampled and were likely the result of fingerling and yearling stockings. Northern Pike catch rates in Indian Lake have varied from 0.0 per gill net in 2014 to 6.0 per gill net in 1996 and have averaged 2.5 per gill net since 1987. In 2022, the Northern Pike catch rate was 1.7 per gill net, within the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (1.1 to 8.0 per gill net). Lengths of Northern Pike ranged from 16.6 to 33.7 inches and averaged 24.9 inches. In the last decade, Northern Pike fingerlings were stocked in 2014 and 2021. We typically would have stocked more frequently in the last decade but Northern Pike production is inherently variable. Indian Lake is within the "southern zone" of the Northern Pike zone regulations, so two Pike longer than 24 inches can be harvested. Northern Pike under 24 inches must be released. Yellow Perch abundance remained low at 2.3 per gill net, below the expected range of catch rates for similar lakes (2.7 to 25.0 per gill net). Black Bullhead abundance has remained low since the 2004 survey as catch rates have not exceeded 7.7 per trap net in any survey. The trend continued in 2022 when the Black Bullhead catch rate was 5.3 per trap net. Other species sampled included Bigmouth Buffalo, Channel Catfish, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, Green Sunfish, White Sucker, and Yellow Bullhead.

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

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

Indian has a maximum depth of 6 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

Yes — Indian has confirmed bighead carp and silver carp. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.