Spider Lake vs Tiger Cat Flowage Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Spider Lake and Tiger Cat Flowage Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Sawyer County, Wisconsin.
Both Spider Lake and Tiger Cat Flowage Lake sit in Wisconsin. 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. The readings are close: Spider Lake and Tiger Cat Flowage Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Spider Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.5 ft.
Tiger Cat Flowage Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.8 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Spider Lake | Tiger Cat Flowage Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 10.5 ft | 10.8 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 14.1 µg/L | 13.4 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 64 ft Better | 30 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,194 acres | 819 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 Better | 4 |
| 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.
Swap a lake
Compare Spider Lake or Tiger Cat Flowage Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Spider Lake: 10.5 ft, Tiger Cat Flowage Lake: 10.8 ft) and what you want from the lake. Spider Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.