Wood Lake

Wood Lake sits at a C on the grading scale — not impaired, not pristine, with summer measurements that vary year to year. The lake's weakest score is on Secchi depth — the water looks more turbid than its phosphorus number alone would predict.

Eutrophic conditions are the baseline here: clarity drops noticeably in late summer, and dissolved oxygen near the bottom can become a concern. A maximum depth of 35 ft puts Wood Lake in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. At 521 acres, Wood Lake fits the Wisconsin median for monitored lakes, with partial shoreline records. Within Burnett County's 57 graded lakes, Wood Lake ranks 42 — below the local median, though not at the bottom.

An invasive species record — Chinese Mystery Snail — has been logged at Wood Lake; Wisconsin DNR maintains the official infested-waters list. Bass fishing is part of the appeal: the species list runs to 3, anchored by largemouth and/or smallmouth bass. A documented public access point at Wood 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.