Hammil Lake

Hammil Lake sits at the top of the Wisconsin DNR grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Wisconsin. clarity and phosphorus rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. Hammil Lake reaches 47 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 77 acres, Hammil Lake sits below the Wisconsin median: a small water where shoreline activity has an outsized effect on water quality. Hammil Lake ranks 26 of 52 in Bayfield County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Hammil Lake — the lake remains off the Wisconsin infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 4 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. 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.