Hello everyone, new to this website but not the BWCA. In 2 weeks I’ll be doing the Sag red rock alpine seagull loop. Went to alpine last year and the fishing was incredible. We are going to set up on of our base camps there and were thinking about taking a day trip to Rog lake for some brookies. I haven’t been able to find any recent reports and the ones I have seen seem that the smallies got in there and do a number on the trout population. Anyways just looking for any info about it. I’m sure they are in there just have to work for them. Any lure suggestions or ways to fish them if we do try it. Much appreciated and everyone be safe this year!

last I heard, about 5 years ago, the brookies are slim to none as the SMB have taken root in that lake. you could try getting into meditation.

Yea that’s kind of what I’ve read from past threads. Thank you for the input

Folks seem tight-lipped on Brookies around here and I get that. I’m not sharing anything that isn’t public info but perhaps it will help. Go to the MN DNR lakefinder site and search any lake and You can find info on surveys and stocking. Rog is stocked every other year on odd number years, and if schedule holds should have received 4500 fingerling brook trout this year. You can email the DNR office in this district and find out the exact date of stocking.

Now that said... doesn’t mean they are surviving long after they’re stocked. But they haven’t given up on Rog.

We got skunked fishing for brookies on Rog.

meditation lake Lake

hopefully this will show up the map with the location of the lake. increase size of map by one or two clicks. the lake is right under the green boundary line

On Roger or other lakes like Skull on the west end,both full of bass. They are two lakes you will being some good by keeping your legal limit of bass to the max. Get them out of there. Same with northern pike etc.
Skull lake out of the Moose chain use to be known for numbers of big brook trout. Not much anymore.

Like Rogers the DNR is going to have to start stocking bigger brook trout to start and get away from the bass predation.

At the risk of taking the thread off topic, I'm surprised to hear that the DNR is stocking fish in the BWCA. Doesn't introducing animals violate the entire idea of wilderness? I had previously assumed, naively it appears, that all fish populations in the BWCA were naturally reproducing.

Disclaimer - I'm not saying I necessarily think stocking brook trout is bad, I'm just surprised it's happening.

dele: "At the risk of taking the thread off topic, I'm surprised to hear that the DNR is stocking fish in the BWCA. Doesn't introducing animals violate the entire idea of wilderness? I had previously assumed, naively it appears, that all fish populations in the BWCA were naturally reproducing.


Disclaimer - I'm not saying I necessarily think stocking brook trout is bad, I'm just surprised it's happening."

That has been discussed between the MN DNR for decades with the USFS and other Clientele.
At present within the BWCA stocking is pretty much limited to walleye,lake trout,brook trout and splake(brook trout x laketrout).
Stocking of rainbow has been stopped. The species listed above were considered native or native at one time to the watersheds of the BWCA.

You opened a big discussion think tank.
Also fishing by us humans does have a effect on populations,especially ones with limited reproduction. I personally think a well managed small stocking program is a viable program and we don't have to go the extreme on this issue either way.
Very very little walleye stocking takes place. A few fry stocking have had very good success in lakes with low previously fishable populations.

At present that is why a few lakes were not stocked in recent years when the MN DNR brook trout stock at the hatcheries had to be destroyed due to disease. No alternate fish like rainbow were stocked in he BWCA. We just had a few years no trout were stocked.

I think pre 1980's there was not much concern on what was stocked up to a point.

i had read they eliminated , rainbows and browns in the BW and stayed with brookies because , brookies are native to minnesota , maybe not the BW , but thats what i read ,
as PT stated fry them smallies up in a brook trout lake ,,,unless your name is Zwater BWAHAHAA.
one might think if these smallies are feasting on brook trout maybe there's a state record hanging in Rog or Skull etc.? NOT !
and as far as rog and brook trout go i can think of a famous Quote from John Banner "i know nothing nothing"