Middle Mckenzie Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Middle Mckenzie Lake pulls an A: clarity at 20.0 ft and 12 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.

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. Middle Mckenzie Lake reaches 45 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. Middle Mckenzie Lake covers 527 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 57 graded lakes in Burnett County, Middle Mckenzie Lake ranks 6 — in the top quartile locally.

Middle Mckenzie Lake is on the Wisconsin infested-waters list for zebra mussels — boaters should follow clean-drain-dry protocols when moving gear to or from the lake. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 5 documented species — a notable draw for Wisconsin anglers. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.