West Bay Lake

On the scoring rubric West Bay Lake grades a D: clarity at 6.0 ft and phosphorus readings still being added keep it in the lower bracket for Vilas County. Sub-grades cluster within a single letter of each other, which usually means the lake is in stable trophic balance rather than fighting one specific stressor.

A TSI in the eutrophic range signals a lake doing what nutrient-loaded waters do — supporting an active algal community at the cost of clear water. A maximum depth of 23 ft puts West Bay Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. At 133 acres, West Bay Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Within the 191 graded lakes of Vilas County, West Bay Lake sits at rank 176, near the bottom of the county list.

West Bay Lake has at least one documented invasive species (Chinese Mystery Snail), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. 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.