West Bay Lake

West Bay Lake earns an A — water clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a all rate among the best monitored waters in 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.

The lake's low TSI puts it in oligotrophic territory — the cleanest of the four trophic classes, but also the most vulnerable to nutrient-driven shifts. 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 Vilas County's 202 graded waters, West Bay Lake sits at rank 6, near the top of the local distribution.

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.