Clear Lake

Clear Lake earns a D — measurements through 2023 show persistent nutrient pressure that limits clarity through the summer. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. Clear Lake is a shallow lake at 9 ft maximum depth, which means it warms quickly, mixes constantly, and amplifies nutrient inputs. Clear Lake covers 434 acres alongside 3.8 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Clear Lake sits at rank 5 of 7 in Jackson County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

An invasive species record — bighead carp — has been logged at Clear Lake; Minnesota PCA maintains the official infested-waters list. Walleye are documented at Clear Lake, one of 15 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Clear 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.