Minnesota DNR fisheries surveys · latest August 6, 2018
Species recorded at Ross Lake
13 species on the Minnesota DNR list for this lake. A species on the list has been recorded here; it does not mean it is catchable today or in every part of the lake.
Stocking at Ross Lake
No stocking record for Ross Lake appears in the Minnesota DNR material on file. That is an absence in the published record, not a confirmation that the lake is unstocked — some waters are managed as naturally reproducing and never appear in a stocking list at all.
Getting on the water
1 public boat landing is recorded on Ross Lake. Minnesota DNR lists the public access sites, including ramp type and parking, in the documents below.
Survey results in full
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 6, 2018 caught 1.67 walleye per gill net at Ross Lake.
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Ross Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
DNR Fisheries Survey Summary
4 surveys on file from MN DNR Fisheries. Most recent: 2018-08-06 (Standard Survey).
4 surveys on file · most recent 2018-08-06 (Standard Survey)
| Species | Catch rate (CPUE) | Size | Avg weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluegill | 18.62 | 2–7 in 2018-08-06 | 0.15 lb |
| Black Crappie | 13.38 | 4–11 in 2018-08-06 | 0.19 lb |
| Largemouth Bass | 5.92 | 10–17 in 2018-08-06 | 1.09 lb |
| Yellow Perch | 5.17 | 5–8 in 2018-08-06 | 0.12 lb |
| Yellow Bullhead | 3.44 | 8–13 in 2018-08-06 | 0.78 lb |
| Northern Pike | 1.93 | 8–32 in 2018-08-06 | 3.22 lb |
CPUE = catch per unit effort, fish caught per net per set in a standardised survey. It measures abundance, not size, and is not a weekly bite report.
Length Distributions
Number of fish caught at each inch class in the most recent survey that recorded lengths. Red dashed line marks an approximate trophy threshold for that species.
Bluegill
Black Crappie
Largemouth Bass
Yellow Perch
From the 2018-08-06 survey
Ross Lake is a 487 acre lake located in northeast Crow Wing County. A public access is located off the northeast corner of the lake. Ross has bog stained water, with a secchi disk reading of 4.0'. Much of the lakeshore is undeveloped and provides critical areas for fish spawning as well as providing habitat for fish…
DNR Reports & Resources
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder publishes lake survey, fish stocking, water access, and aquatic plant data for Ross Lake. 3 reports on file.
These links open on the official state DNR websites (Wisconsin DNR survey PDFs · Minnesota DNR LakeFinder).
- —Fisheries Lake Survey — RossFisheries Lake Survey · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Aquatic Plant Report — Ross (0398)Aquatic Plant Report · MN DNR LakeFinder
- —Public Water Access Sites — RossPublic Water Access Sites · MN DNR LakeFinder
Common questions
What fish are in Ross Lake?
Minnesota DNR's Standard Survey on August 6, 2018 caught 1.67 walleye per gill net at Ross Lake. Minnesota DNR lists 13 species for the lake in total. Those are survey results, not a catch report: a net set on one date measures what was in that net.
When was Ross Lake last surveyed?
The most recent fisheries survey on file for Ross Lake is dated August 6, 2018. Survey intervals vary by lake and by species; a gap of several years between surveys is normal and does not mean the record is missing.
Is Ross Lake stocked?
No stocking record for Ross Lake appears in the Minnesota DNR material on file. That is not the same as a confirmed unstocked lake: it means no stocking document was published for it in the records this page draws on.
Do the water-quality readings tell me how Ross Lake fishes?
A DNR fisheries survey reports fish abundance and catch rates, not water quality. LakeQuality shows Ross Lake’s water-quality measurements separately, and the water-quality trend over 6 years of monitoring is stable. Catch rate is not a swim clearance and is not a weekly bite report.
Before you eat what you catch
Water-quality readings are not a consumption advisory. Mercury and PCB advice for Minnesota waters comes from MDH, and it is issued per species and per size class: a lake with clear, low-nutrient water can still carry a meal limit on larger predator fish.
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