Spencer Lake

On the LakeGrade scale Spencer Lake grades a B, with clarity at 8.5 ft and 11 µg/L of phosphorus placing it above the Wisconsin median. The lake's weakest score is on Secchi depth — the water looks more turbid than its phosphorus number alone would predict.

The lake sits in the mesotrophic zone — the band where most well-managed Wisconsin lakes fall. At 53 ft of maximum depth, Spencer Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. Spencer Lake is small — 70 acres alongside partial shoreline records — which makes it sensitive to even modest changes in watershed runoff or recreational pressure. Spencer Lake sits at rank 18 of 25 in Waupaca County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

Eurasian watermilfoil is established at Spencer Lake, which can dampen recreational access and pressure the native plant community. Walleye are documented at Spencer Lake, one of 5 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Spencer Lake makes the lake usable for shore fishing, paddle craft, and trailered boats. 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.