Lake Winnibigoshish vs Six Mile Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Six Mile Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Lake Winnibigoshish. Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.
Both Lake Winnibigoshish and Six Mile Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. Six Mile Lake reads materially cleaner than Lake Winnibigoshish on nutrients and algae. 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 gap in the readings is decisive: Six Mile Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Lake Winnibigoshish
Good clarity, visible to about 12.1 ft.
Six Mile Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lake Winnibigoshish | Six Mile Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 12.1 ft Better | 11.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 29 µg/L | 14.5 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 5.2 µg/L Better | 6.7 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 69.8 ft Better | 68 ft |
| Surface Area | 56,471 acres | 1,323 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 20 Better | 16 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
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Verdict
Six Mile Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Lake Winnibigoshish. Water clarity: 11.5 ft vs 12.1 ft. For more fish-species variety, Lake Winnibigoshish edges ahead with 20 documented species.
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Where to stay near Lake Winnibigoshish and Six Mile Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.