Bass Lake

Bass Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

A TSI value of 35 puts Bass Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. The lake's 65 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Minnesota — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. Bass Lake covers 122 acres alongside 2.5 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Itasca County's 141 graded waters, Bass Lake sits at rank 9, near the top of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Bass Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery is bass-led, with 7 documented species across the lake's records. A documented public access point at Bass Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.