Washburn
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Fish and Aquatic Life
Overview
Big Bass Lake, in the Lower Namekagon River Watershed, is a 201.23 acre lake that falls in Washburn County. This lake is managed for fishing and swimming and is currently not considered impaired.
Date 2011
Author Aquatic Biologist
Historical Description
Source: 1978, Surface Water Resources of Washburn County
Big Bass Lake, T42N, R12W, Section 31, 32, Surface Acres-202.8, Maximum
Depth-27 feet, M.P.A.-80 ppm, Secchi Disk-8 feet
A soft water, seepage lake located in the sandy, pitted glacial
outwash of northwest Washburn County. This clear water lake is
landlocked but is connected to nearby Little Bass Lake by a two-foot deep
channel. The Bass Lake fishery consists of walleyes, northern pike,
largemouth bass, bluegills, perch, and white suckers. The shoreline is
almost entirely upland with mixed hardwood and jack pine except for the
marsh and bog bordering the channel to Little Bass Lake. Sand bottom
predominates in the littoral zone except along the north shore bluff area
where there is gravel and the channel where there is muck. A few broods
of ducks are raised but sparse vegetation in the lake does not provide
much habitat for waterfowl or furbearers. A public access and swimming
beach are part of the Town of Minong Park on the north shore. Private
development consists of three resorts, two boat rentals, and sixteen
cottages. It has no other public frontage than the park's 0.06 mile.
Date 1978
Author Surface Water Inventory Of Wisconsin
Condition
Wisconsin has over 84,000 miles of streams, 15,000 lakes and milllions of acres of wetlands. Assessing the condition of this vast amount of water is challenging. The state's water monitoring program uses a media-based, cross-program approach to analyze water condition. An updated monitoring strategy (2015-2020) is now available. Compliance with Clean Water Act fishable, swimmable standards are located in the Executive Summary of Water Condition in 2018. See also the 'monitoring and projects' tab.
Reports
Management Goals
Wisconsin's Water Quality Standards provide qualitative and quantitative goals for waters that are protective of Fishable, Swimmable conditions [Learn more]. Waters that do not meet water quality standards are considered impaired and restoration actions are planned and carried out until the water is once again fishable and swimmable
Management goals can include creation or implementation of a Total Maximum Daily Load analysis, a Nine Key Element Plan, or other restoration work, education and outreach and more. If specific recommendations exist for this water, they will be displayed below online.
Monitoring
Monitoring the condition of a river, stream, or lake includes gathering physical, chemical, biological, and habitat data. Comprehensive studies often gather all these parameters in great detail, while lighter assessment events will involve sampling physical, chemical and biological data such as macroinvertebrates. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish communities integrate watershed or catchment condition, providing great insight into overall ecosystem health. Chemical and habitat parameters tell researchers more about human induced problems including contaminated runoff, point source dischargers, or habitat issues that foster or limit the potential of aquatic communities to thrive in a given area. Wisconsin's Water Monitoring Strategy was recenty updated.
Grants and Management Projects
Monitoring Projects
| WBIC | Official Waterbody Name | Station ID | Station Name | Earliest Fieldwork Date | Latest Fieldwork Date | View Station | View Data |
|---|
| 2453300 | Big Bass Lake | 663167 | Big Bass Lake - Center | 6/9/2004 | 8/1/2022 | Map | Data |
| 2453300 | Big Bass Lake | 10006716 | Big Bass Lake | 10/10/1994 | 4/30/2019 | Map | Data |
| 2453300 | Big Bass Lake | 10018234 | Big Bass Lake -- Access | 9/6/2006 | 9/5/2024 | Map | Data |
|
Watershed Characteristics
Big Bass Lake is located in the Lower Namekagon River watershed which is 239.34 mi². Land use in the watershed is primarily forest (73.10%), wetland (15.20%) and a mix of open (7.40%) and other uses (4.40%). This watershed has 172.53 stream miles, 12,590.30 lake acres and 21,781.64 wetland acres.
Nonpoint Source Characteristics
This watershed is ranked Not Ranked for runoff impacts on streams, Not Ranked for runoff impacts on lakes and Low for runoff impacts on groundwater and therefore has an overall rank of Low. This value can be used in ranking the watershed or individual waterbodies for grant funding under state and county programs.However, all waters are affected by diffuse pollutant sources regardless of initial water quality. Applications for specific runoff projects under state or county grant programs may be pursued. For more information, go to surface water program grants.