Stay Lake

Stay Lake earns an F: 172 µg/L of phosphorus and clarity at 1.0 ft signal heavy nutrient loading from the surrounding watershed. With clarity and phosphorus scored, the sub-grades cluster within a letter of each other, pointing to stable conditions rather than one specific stressor.

The hypereutrophic status — TSI 78 — reflects sustained heavy nutrient loading from the surrounding watershed and frequent algal pressure. At only 6 ft deep, Stay Lake is shallow — wind keeps the water column mixed and sediment resuspension drives phosphorus levels harder to manage. Stay Lake covers 221 acres alongside 3.0 miles of shoreline — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within the 5 graded lakes of Lincoln County, Stay Lake sits at rank 5, near the bottom of the county list.

No invasive species are currently listed at Stay Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye among the lake's 12 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at Stay 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.