Little Bass Lake

Little Bass Lake sits at the top of the Minnesota PCA grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Minnesota. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

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. Little Bass Lake is unusually deep for Minnesota at 62 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. At 161 acres, Little Bass Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 2.4 miles of shoreline. Little Bass Lake ranks 17 of 141 in Itasca County, putting it in the upper tier of locally monitored lakes.

Little Bass Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2024, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 13 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at Little Bass Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. The lake has a long ice-out record — 57 observations on file, with a median ice-out around Apr 21. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.