Big Lake vs Jessie Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Lake and Jessie Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Big Lake and Jessie Lake are both in Minnesota — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Big Lake (A) versus Jessie Lake (A). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
With grades this close, the choice between the two lakes turns on non-water-quality factors: depth, fish species, public access, distance from home. The per-lake pages below cover all of those.
Big Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.7 ft.
Jessie Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Lake | Jessie Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 9.7 ft | 4.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 15 µg/L | 23.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.8 µg/L | 4.6 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 35 ft | 35 ft |
| Surface Area | 3,598 acres | 3,598 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 17 | 17 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Big Lake: 9.7 ft, Jessie Lake: 4.6 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Lake matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.