Jay Gould Lake vs Pokegama Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pokegama Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Jay Gould Lake (B, Good). Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Both Jay Gould Lake and Pokegama 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: Jay Gould Lake (B) and Pokegama 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.
Jay Gould Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Pokegama Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.5 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Jay Gould Lake | Pokegama Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 13 ft | 17.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 21 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 33 ft | 112 ft |
| Surface Area | 551.74 acres | 6.7K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Pokegama Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Jay Gould Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 17.5 ft vs 13 ft. For fishing diversity, Pokegama Lake also leads with 1 species.