North Branch Kawishi Lake

North Branch Kawishi Lake comes in at a B on the grading rubric — a respectable showing for a Minnesota lake of its size and depth. Clarity is the limiting factor — phosphorus is reasonable but suspended particles or algal cells keep water transparency below Minnesota norms.

A TSI near 45 places North Branch Kawishi Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. At only 13 ft deep, North Branch Kawishi Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. North Branch Kawishi Lake covers 182 acres alongside 3.9 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. North Branch Kawishi Lake sits at rank 74 of 142 in Lake County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

North Branch Kawishi Lake has no invasive species recorded in Minnesota state databases as of 2022, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 7 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. No formal public access is documented at North Branch Kawishi Lake — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. 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.