Spooner Lake vs Yellow River Flowage Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Yellow River Flowage Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Spooner Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Washburn County, Wisconsin.
Both Spooner Lake and Yellow River Flowage Lake sit in Wisconsin. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Spooner Lake (C) versus Yellow River Flowage 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.
Spooner Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.5 ft.
Yellow River Flowage Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Spooner Lake | Yellow River Flowage Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 6.5 ft | 10 ft |
| Phosphorus | 22.7 µg/L | 23.1 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 1.1K acres | 1.1K acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Yellow River Flowage Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Spooner Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 10 ft vs 6.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Yellow River Flowage Lake also leads with 0 species.