Arkdale Lake

Arkdale Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Wisconsin lake of its size and depth. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

A TSI near 43 places Arkdale Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. At only 11 ft deep, Arkdale Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. Arkdale Lake is small — 46 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Within the 20 graded lakes of Adams County, Arkdale Lake sits at rank 17, near the bottom of the county list.

Zebra mussel presence at Arkdale Lake means the lake's clarity numbers carry an asterisk — filtered water is not the same as nutrient-poor water. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. A documented public access point at Arkdale Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.