Big Portage (E Bay Lake vs Hattie Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Portage (E Bay Lake and Hattie Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.
Both Big Portage (E Bay Lake and Hattie 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 close: Big Portage (E Bay Lake (A) and Hattie Lake (A) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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 Portage (E Bay Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.9 ft.
Hattie Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.3 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Portage (E Bay Lake | Hattie Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 8.9 ft | 10.3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 19 µg/L | 16.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 6.4 µg/L | 4.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 23 ft | 30 ft |
| Surface Area | 902 acres | 588 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 13 | 14 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
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 Portage (E Bay Lake: 8.9 ft, Hattie Lake: 10.3 ft) and what you want from the lake. Big Portage (E Bay Lake has fewer fish species than Hattie Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.