Skip to main content
LakeQuality

Clear Lake vs Pelican Lake

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

Clear Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Pelican Lake (D, Poor). Both are in Oneida County, Wisconsin.

Both Clear Lake and Pelican Lake sit in Wisconsin. 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. Clear Lake (A) is materially cleaner than Pelican Lake (D). A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.

For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Clear 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

Clear Lake

Oneida County, Wisconsin

No clarity data.

D

Pelican Lake

Oneida County, Wisconsin

Murky, only visible to about 5.1 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.

MetricClear LakePelican Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)D (Poor)
Water ClarityNo data5.1 ft
Phosphorus10.8 µg/LNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth95 ft39 ft
Surface Area873 acres3.5K acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Stateoligotrophiceutrophic

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

Verdict

Clear Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Pelican Lake's Grade D. For fishing diversity, Clear Lake also leads with 0 species.