Big Bass Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Big Bass Lake pulls an A: clarity at 10.8 ft and 14 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Minnesota. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI near 43 places Big Bass Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. A maximum depth of 17 ft puts Big Bass Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. The lake's 337 acres and 3.9 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Among the 86 graded lakes in Beltrami County, Big Bass Lake sits at rank 43, above the county median.

No invasive species are currently listed at Big Bass Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Big Bass Lake, one of 11 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Big Bass 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.