West Bay Lake

On the LakeGrade rubric, West Bay Lake pulls an A: clarity at 27.9 ft and phosphorus readings still being added put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. Clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate similarly, so there is no obvious single lever to pull on watershed management.

Trophically, West Bay Lake reads as oligotrophic — nutrient-poor, clear, and ecologically more sensitive to disturbance than richer lakes. The lake's 57 ft maximum depth is in the upper tier for Wisconsin — deep enough for cold-water fish to find refuge in summer. West Bay Lake covers 254 acres alongside partial shoreline records — a mid-sized water that supports a working fishery without being so large that conditions diverge between basins. Within Vilas County's 202 graded waters, West Bay Lake sits at rank 5, near the top of the local distribution.

West Bay Lake has at least one documented invasive species (Rusty Crayfish), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. Walleye are documented at West Bay Lake, one of 6 fish species on record for the lake. The grade is based on limited monitoring — fewer than three independent measurement years contribute, so future updates may shift the letter.