Leader Lake

Leader Lake earns an A — every scored parameter (clarity and phosphorus) rates among the best monitored waters in Douglas County. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.

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. At 56 ft of maximum depth, Leader Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. At 171 acres, Leader Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Among the 40 graded lakes in Douglas County, Leader Lake ranks 1 — in the top quartile locally.

No invasive species are currently listed at Leader 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.