Crooked Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Crooked Lake pulls an A: clarity at 29.5 ft and 17 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. 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.

Trophically, Crooked Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. At 56 ft of maximum depth, Crooked Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. The lake is compact at 48 acres, with partial shoreline records and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Among the 20 graded lakes in Adams County, Crooked Lake sits at rank 6, above the county median.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Crooked Lake, which can dampen recreational access and pressure the native plant community. The fishery is bass-led, with 3 documented species across the lake's records. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR public-access list. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.