Lac Courte Oreilles Lake vs Tiger Cat Flowage Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lac Courte Oreilles Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Tiger Cat Flowage Lake (B, Good). Both are in Sawyer County, Wisconsin.
Both Lac Courte Oreilles Lake and Tiger Cat Flowage 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. The grades are close: Lac Courte Oreilles Lake (A) and Tiger Cat Flowage 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.
Lac Courte Oreilles Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.2 ft.
Tiger Cat Flowage Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.8 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lac Courte Oreilles Lake | Tiger Cat Flowage Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 12.2 ft | 10.8 ft |
| Phosphorus | 15 µg/L | 13.4 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.7 µg/L | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 90 ft | 30 ft |
| Surface Area | 5,139 acres | 819 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 6 | 4 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Lac Courte Oreilles Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Tiger Cat Flowage Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 12.2 ft vs 10.8 ft. For fishing diversity, Lac Courte Oreilles Lake also leads with 6 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.