Anderson Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Anderson Lake pulls an A: clarity at 30.3 ft and 5 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. The lake bottoms out at 46 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. The lake is compact at 31 acres, with partial shoreline records and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Within Bayfield County's 55 graded waters, Anderson Lake sits at rank 6, near the top of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Anderson Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 1, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.