Skip to main content
LakeQuality

Little Winnibigoshish Lake vs Tamarack Bay Lake

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

Tamarack Bay Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Little Winnibigoshish Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Minnesota.

Little Winnibigoshish Lake and Tamarack Bay Lake are both in Minnesota — 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. Tamarack Bay Lake (A) is materially cleaner than Little Winnibigoshish Lake (C). 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 grade gap is decisive — Tamarack Bay Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?

C

Little Winnibigoshish Lake

Itasca County, Minnesota

Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.4 ft.

A

Tamarack Bay Lake

Cass County, Minnesota

Good clarity, visible to about 11.5 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.

MetricLittle Winnibigoshish LakeTamarack Bay Lake
Overall GradeC (Fair)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity8.4 ft11.5 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)10.5 µg/L4.6 µg/L
Maximum Depth28 ft69.8 ft
Surface Area1.0K acres56.5K acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species11
Trophic Stateeutrophicmesotrophic

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

Verdict

Tamarack Bay Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Little Winnibigoshish Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 11.5 ft vs 8.4 ft. For fishing diversity, Tamarack Bay Lake also leads with 1 species.