North Lake

The LakeGrade rubric puts North Lake at a C: clarity at 5.5 ft, 23 µg/L of phosphorus, and a TSI of 51 signal an intermediate trophic state. The lake's weakest score is on Secchi depth — the water looks more turbid than its phosphorus number alone would predict.

At a TSI of 51, North Lake reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. A maximum depth of 21 ft puts North Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. North Lake is small — 83 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. North Lake ranks 16 of 37 in Barron County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

An invasive species record — Chinese Mystery Snail — has been logged at North Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. 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.