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LakeQuality

Catfish Lake vs Eagle Lake

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

Catfish Lake and Eagle Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in Vilas County, Wisconsin.

Catfish Lake and Eagle Lake are both in Wisconsin — 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. The grades are close: Catfish Lake (D) and Eagle Lake (D) 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.

D

Catfish Lake

Vilas County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 5.5 ft.

D

Eagle Lake

Vilas County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 5 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.

MetricCatfish LakeEagle Lake
Overall GradeD (Poor)D (Poor)
Water Clarity5.5 ft5 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth30 ft34 ft
Surface Area1.0K acres575 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateeutrophiceutrophic

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

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Catfish Lake: 5.5 ft, Eagle Lake: 5 ft) and what you want from the lake. Catfish Lake matches its peer on species count.