Little Ball Club Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts Little Ball Club Lake at a C: clarity at 7.9 ft, phosphorus readings still being added, and a TSI of 51 signal an intermediate trophic state. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. The lake bottoms out at 30 ft — a moderate depth that supports a warm-water fishery without the year-round cold refuge a deeper basin provides. At 185 acres, Little Ball Club Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 2.5 miles of shoreline. Within the 146 graded lakes of Itasca County, Little Ball Club Lake sits at rank 122, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at Little Ball Club Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 12 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.