Long Lake vs Shell Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Long Lake and Shell Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). Both are in Washburn County, Wisconsin.
Long Lake and Shell 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: Long Lake (B) and Shell 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.
Long Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.5 ft.
Shell Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Long Lake | Shell Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 9.5 ft | 16 ft |
| Phosphorus | 17.3 µg/L | 15.2 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | 36 ft |
| Surface Area | 3,290 acres | 2,513 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 6 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Long Lake: 9.5 ft, Shell Lake: 16 ft) and what you want from the lake. Long Lake has fewer fish species than Shell Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.