Harper Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Harper Lake grades a B, with clarity at 9.2 ft and 28 µg/L of phosphorus placing it above the Wisconsin median. 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.

A TSI near 49 places Harper Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. The lake bottoms out at 19 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. The lake is compact at 10 acres, with partial shoreline records and little volume to buffer nutrient inputs. Harper Lake ranks 30 of 32 in Langlade County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Harper Lake has no invasive species recorded in Wisconsin state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 2, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.