Bass Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Bass Lake pulls an A: clarity at 39.4 ft and 12 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. 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.

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's maximum depth is not yet documented in state morphometric records — context for its physical structure remains limited. Bass Lake is small — 22 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Within Florence County's 39 graded waters, Bass Lake sits at rank 1, near the top of the local distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil has been documented at Bass Lake, requiring shoreline management to keep dense mats from crowding native vegetation. The fishery is bass-led, with 3 documented species across the lake's records. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.