Meder Lake

Meder Lake carries a solid B grade — strong on most parameters, with measurements that hold up well across the summer season. 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.

A TSI near 41 places Meder Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. At only 10 ft deep, Meder Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. Meder Lake covers 135 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Meder Lake ranks 10 of 10 in Ashland County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

An invasive species record — Purple Loosestrife — has been logged at Meder Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 4 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. A documented public access point at Meder Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. 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.