Deer Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Deer Lake pulls an A: clarity at 12.8 ft and 12 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Minnesota. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Deer Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. The lake's maximum depth is not yet documented in state morphometric records — context for its physical structure remains limited. Deer Lake covers 181 acres alongside 4.2 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Deer Lake ranks 31 of 77 in Hubbard County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Deer Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 8, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. The lake lacks a documented public access point, so visitor use is limited. The lake has a partial ice record — 16 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 24. 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.