Long Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Long Lake pulls an A: clarity at 14.5 ft and 12 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. clarity and phosphorus rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Trophically, Long Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. Long Lake is unusually deep for Wisconsin at 64 ft, which buffers the lake against summer warming and helps the deep water stay oxygenated. Long Lake covers 119 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Among the 18 graded lakes in Lincoln County, Long Lake sits at rank 6, above the county median.

Long Lake has at least one documented invasive species (Chinese Mystery Snail), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 4, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. 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.