Moss Lake East Deep

On the scoring rubric Moss Lake East Deep grades a D: clarity at 3.5 ft and phosphorus readings still being added keep it in the lower bracket for Vilas County. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. Moss Lake East Deep reaches 29 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. Moss Lake East Deep covers 185 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within the 191 graded lakes of Vilas County, Moss Lake East Deep sits at rank 175, near the bottom of the county list.

Moss Lake East Deep has at least one documented invasive species (Purple Loosestrife), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. Walleye are documented at Moss Lake East Deep, one of 6 fish species on record for the lake. 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.