Pickerel Lake vs Roberts Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pickerel Lake and Roberts Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). Both are in Forest County, Wisconsin.
Pickerel Lake and Roberts 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Pickerel Lake (B) versus Roberts Lake (B). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
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.
Pickerel Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft.
Roberts Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Pickerel Lake | Roberts Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 10 ft | 11.7 ft |
| Phosphorus | 20.4 µg/L | 11.1 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 19 ft | 31 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,272 acres | 435 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 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 (Pickerel Lake: 10 ft, Roberts Lake: 11.7 ft) and what you want from the lake. Pickerel Lake has fewer fish species than Roberts Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.