Rooney Lake

Rooney Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Burnett County. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. The lake bottoms out at 30 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. Rooney Lake covers 329 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 70 graded lakes in Burnett County, Rooney Lake sits at rank 34, above the county median.

An invasive species record — Chinese Mystery Snail — has been logged at Rooney Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. Walleye are documented at Rooney Lake, one of 4 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Rooney Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.