Lobster Lake vs Smith Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Lobster Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Smith Lake. Both are in Douglas County, Minnesota.
Both Lobster Lake and Smith 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. Lobster Lake reads materially cleaner than Smith Lake 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: Lobster 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?
Lobster Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Smith Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.6 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Lobster Lake | Smith Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13 ft Better | 3.6 ft |
| Phosphorus | 20.5 µg/L Better | 58 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.6 µg/L Better | 36 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 65 ft Better | 30 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,334 acres | 666 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 18 Better | 15 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
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
Lobster Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Smith Lake. Water clarity: 13 ft vs 3.6 ft. For fishing diversity, Lobster Lake also leads with 18 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.