Mcginnis Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Mcginnis Lake pulls an A: clarity at 19.7 ft and 21 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

Mesotrophic conditions dominate at Mcginnis Lake: enough nutrients for a healthy fishery, not so much that algal blooms become a chronic problem. A maximum depth of 28 ft puts Mcginnis Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. Mcginnis Lake is small — 27 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Within Adams County's 20 graded lakes, Mcginnis Lake ranks 14 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

Mcginnis Lake carries an invasive watermilfoil record — boat-launch decontamination and shoreline care matter more here than at uninfested lakes. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 2, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. Public access is available — the lake is on the Wisconsin DNR 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.