First Silver Lake

First Silver Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Minnesota lakes fall. The lake bottoms out at 43 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 529 acres, First Silver Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 4.1 miles of shoreline. First Silver Lake ranks 24 of 98 in Otter Tail County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Zebra mussels have been documented at First Silver Lake, which alters the filter-feeding balance and can paradoxically increase water clarity while disrupting the food web. Walleye are documented at First Silver Lake, one of 13 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at First Silver Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. Ice-out has been recorded 14 times at First Silver Lake, with a median around Apr 13. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.