Lower Comstock Lake

On the scoring rubric Lower Comstock Lake grades a D: clarity at 4.5 ft and phosphorus readings still being added keep it in the lower bracket for St. Louis County. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. Lower Comstock Lake reaches 30 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. At 160 acres, Lower Comstock Lake fits the Minnesota median for monitored lakes, with 3.0 miles of shoreline. Lower Comstock Lake ranks 171 of 187 in St. Louis County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Lower Comstock Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2020, 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. Public access is available — the lake is on the Minnesota PCA public-access list. 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.