Roach Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Roach Lake pulls an A: clarity at 75.5 ft and phosphorus readings still being added put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting 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. A maximum depth of 48 ft puts Roach Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. Roach Lake is small — 48 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Roach Lake ranks 99 of 202 in Vilas County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Roach Lake has no invasive species recorded in Wisconsin state databases as of 2023, though prevention practices still apply at all access points. The fishery is bass-led, with 2 documented species across the lake's records. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.