Whitefish Lake

Whitefish Lake earns a C — middle-of-the-pack water quality, with one or two parameters dragging the average down from a stronger grade. 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 18 ft puts Whitefish Lake in the middle of Minnesota's depth distribution. The lake's 243 acres and 2.8 miles of shoreline put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Among the 20 graded lakes in Polk County, Whitefish Lake sits at rank 9, above the county median.

No invasive species are currently listed at Whitefish Lake — the lake remains off the Minnesota infested-waters roster. The fishery includes walleye alongside the lake's other 15 documented species — a notable draw for Minnesota anglers. A documented public access point at Whitefish 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.