Carlin Lake

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

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. A maximum depth of 36 ft puts Carlin Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. At 155 acres, Carlin Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Within Vilas County's 191 graded waters, Carlin Lake sits at rank 6, near the top of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Carlin Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. 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.