Sand Bar Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Sand Bar Lake pulls an A: clarity at 19.0 ft and 10 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. The two scored sub-grades — clarity and phosphorus — track close together, so neither one is dragging the average down.

A TSI value of 36 puts Sand Bar Lake in the oligotrophic range, where biological productivity stays low and the water column remains clear. Sand Bar Lake reaches 49 ft at its deepest point — typical for Wisconsin mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. The lake's 127 acres and partial shoreline records put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Sand Bar Lake ranks 14 of 52 in Bayfield County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Sand Bar Lake carries an invasive watermilfoil record — boat-launch decontamination and shoreline care matter more here than at uninfested lakes. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. 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.