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LakeQuality

Ball Club Lake vs Little Winnibigoshish Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Ball Club Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Little Winnibigoshish Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.

Both Ball Club Lake and Little Winnibigoshish Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are meaningfully apart: Ball Club Lake grades a A while Little Winnibigoshish Lake grades a C. That two-letter spread reflects real underlying differences — different watershed inputs, different depth profiles, or different monitoring rigor.

For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Ball Club Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?

A

Ball Club Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota

Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down.

C

Little Winnibigoshish Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota

Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.4 ft.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricBall Club LakeLittle Winnibigoshish Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)C (Fair)
Water Clarity16 ft8.4 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No data10.5 µg/L
Maximum Depth85 ft28 ft
Surface Area4.3K acres1.0K acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species11
Trophic Stateoligotrophiceutrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Ball Club Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Little Winnibigoshish Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 16 ft vs 8.4 ft. For fishing diversity, Ball Club Lake also leads with 1 species.