Welsh Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, Welsh Lake pulls an A: clarity at 13.5 ft and phosphorus readings still being added put it in the top bracket for Minnesota. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

A TSI near 42 places Welsh Lake in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. At 59 ft of maximum depth, Welsh Lake stratifies reliably through the summer — the hypolimnion stays cooler and clearer than the surface layer suggests. The lake's 196 acres and 2.2 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Welsh Lake sits at rank 79 of 133 in Cass County, in the lower half of the local distribution.

No invasive species are currently listed at Welsh Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. Walleye are documented at Welsh Lake, one of 14 fish species on record for the lake. A documented public access point at Welsh 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.