Bearskin Lake

Bearskin Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in Oneida County. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. The lake bottoms out at 26 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 403 acres, Bearskin Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Bearskin Lake sits at rank 92 of 140 in Oneida County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Bearskin Lake has at least one documented invasive species (Chinese Mystery Snail), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 6 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR public-access list. 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.