Rog Lake

How big is Rog Lake?

How deep is Rog Lake?

What kind of fish can you catch in Rog Lake?

Are there places to eat and drink near Rog Lake?

This was the first of two assessments scheduled in the 2006 lake management plan to determine whether a change in stocking strategy begun in 2009 resulted in improved brook trout abundance. It was hoped that stocking higher numbers of fingerlings would overcome losses to predation from smallmouth bass and possibly walleye in this lake.

The brook trout catch in this assessment was the lowest seen in this lake since it was first stocked with the species. The gill net catch was well short of the normal range (1.50-14.00 fish/net) for fall assessments of stream trout lakes in this area, and fell well short of the long range goal for the species (4.0 fish/net) established in the 2006 management plan. The mean weight for brook trout collected in 2013 was the highest seen to date in this lake, and was well above the normal range (0.50-1.18 lb/fish) for lakes in this area. The low catch, and the high mean weight, were the result of very limited (or no) survival of the 2011 stocking. All fish taken were four-year-old fish from the 2009 fingerling stocking. Both brook trout collected in this assessment had exhibited good growth; they reached an average length of 16.1 inches by the end of their fourth year. The presence of any four-year-old fish has been unusual in stream trout lakes in this area, and probably indicated good long term survival of fish that survive the immediate post-stocking period.

Poor survival of brook trout stocked in 2011 may have been caused by cannibalism from the few larger trout present, or by the presence of smallmouth bass in significant numbers. Smallmouth bass were first seen in this lake in 1991, and brook trout catches have dropped in every assessment done since that time. Five year classes contributed to the 2013 smallmouth bass catch, and many of the fish present would have been large enough to have preyed on newly stocked brook trout. Growth of older smallmouth bass collected in 2013 had been about average for the area, with seven-year-old fish reaching an average length of 14.0 inches by the end of their seventh year.

White sucker and burbot were present in average numbers for a lake of this class. Both may compete with brook trout for forage, with white sucker perhaps a more important competitor than burbot. Walleye have been found in this lake in the past, and may still have been present in low numbers in 2013. Walleye would compete with trout for forage, and could prey directly on stocked fingerlings.

Although results of this assessment suggest the current stocking strategy has failed, another assessment should be done as planned before a decision on continued stocking is made. The 2013 assessment only targeted two year classes stocked at the new rate and frequency. One apparently failed (2011), but the other (2009) showed reasonable long-term survival. Stockings do occasionally fail, even in lakes with no predators or competing species, so additional assessment work is warranted before we conclude that conditions in Rog Lake are no longer suitable for continued stream trout management.