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LakeQuality

Kentuck Lake vs South Bay Lake

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

South Bay Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Kentuck Lake (B, Good). Both are in Wisconsin.

Kentuck Lake and South Bay 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: Kentuck Lake (B) and South Bay 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.

B

Kentuck Lake

Vilas County, Wisconsin

Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.1 ft.

B

South Bay Lake

Forest County, Wisconsin

Good clarity, visible to about 12 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.

MetricKentuck LakeSouth Bay Lake
Overall GradeB (Good)B (Good)
Water Clarity9.1 ft12 ft
Phosphorus24.3 µg/LNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth40 ft46 ft
Surface Area1.0K acres839 acres
Public AccessUnknownUnknown
Fish Species00
Trophic Statemesotrophicmesotrophic

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

Verdict

South Bay Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Kentuck Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 12 ft vs 9.1 ft. For fishing diversity, South Bay Lake also leads with 0 species.