Goose Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Goose Lake grades a B, with clarity at 8.0 ft and 18 µg/L of phosphorus placing it above the Wisconsin median. The lake's weakest score is on Secchi depth — the water looks more turbid than its phosphorus number alone would predict.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Goose Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. A maximum depth of 18 ft puts Goose Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. Goose Lake is small — 67 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Among the 19 graded lakes in Adams County, Goose Lake sits at rank 7, above the county median.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Goose 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. 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.