Clitherall Lake vs First Silver Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
First Silver Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Clitherall Lake (A, Excellent). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both Clitherall Lake and First Silver 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Clitherall Lake (A) versus First Silver 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.
Clitherall Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.1 ft.
First Silver Lake
No clarity data.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Clitherall Lake | First Silver Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 14.1 ft | No data |
| Phosphorus | 9 µg/L | 16 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 69 ft | 43 ft |
| Surface Area | 2.5K acres | 529.36 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 13 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
First Silver Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Clitherall Lake's Grade A. For more fish-species variety, Clitherall Lake edges ahead with 16 documented species.