Big Sugar Bush Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Big Sugar Bush Lake pulls an A: clarity at 17.0 ft and 10 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 value of 37 puts Big Sugar Bush Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. The lake bottoms out at 42 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 522 acres, Big Sugar Bush Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 14.3 miles of shoreline. Big Sugar Bush Lake ranks 2 of 93 in Becker County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

No invasive species are currently listed at Big Sugar Bush Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 13 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. Ice-out has been recorded 24 times at Big Sugar Bush Lake, with a median around Apr 17. 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.