Chippewa Flowage Lake vs Mud Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Mud Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Chippewa Flowage Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Sawyer County, Wisconsin.
Chippewa Flowage Lake and Mud 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: Chippewa Flowage Lake (C) and Mud Lake (B) 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.
Chippewa Flowage Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 6.9 ft.
Mud Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Chippewa Flowage Lake | Mud Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 6.9 ft | 10 ft |
| Phosphorus | 26 µg/L | 18.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 7 µg/L | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 92 ft | 15 ft |
| Surface Area | 14,593 acres | 464 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 8 | 4 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Mud Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Chippewa Flowage Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 10 ft vs 6.9 ft. For more fish-species variety, Chippewa Flowage Lake edges ahead with 8 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.