Minocqua Lake

Minocqua Lake sits at the top of the Wisconsin DNR grading rubric with an A, a mark reached by the cleanest lakes in Wisconsin. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI value of 31 puts Minocqua Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. The lake's 60 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Wisconsin — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. At 1,339 acres, Minocqua Lake is one of the larger lakes in Oneida County, with partial shoreline records supporting multiple distinct use patterns. Among the 140 graded lakes in Oneida County, Minocqua Lake sits at rank 38, above the county median.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Minocqua Lake, which can dampen recreational access and pressure the native plant community. Walleye are documented at Minocqua Lake, one of 6 fish species on record for the lake. 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.