Talcot

Talcot Lake is a 678-acre, class 43 lake located near the Town of Dundee in Cottonwood County. The West Fork of the Des Moines River runs through the lake. Lake systems with some connectivity to rivers create unique and often dynamic fish populations due to the diversity of habitat created by the river's flow. Talcot Lake is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, and Black Crappie. Talcot Lake has a self-sustaining Walleye population and therefore has not been stocked with Walleye since 1989; however, some Walleye do drift to Talcot Lake from Lake Shetek especially during higher precipitation years. Genetic analysis of Walleye tissue samples collected in 2017 showed that 90 percent of Walleye sampled came downstream from Shetek, but some natural reproduction also occurred. Walleye natural reproduction checks using an electrofishing boat have been conducted periodically since 1995. A daytime electrofishing survey was conducted on September 15, 2025 to determine if a year-class was produced either by natural reproduction or drift from Lake Shetek. Young-of-the year Walleye were captured at a rate of 1.5 per hour electrofishing, which indicates that downstream drift from Shetek (despite a strong year class produced there) or natural reproduction was limited. Fall electrofishing surveys should continue annually to document natural reproduction or movement of Walleye from Lake Shetek.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Talcot Lake, was conducted on June 16th-18th, 2025, by Lake Biological Monitoring and Assessment (LBMA) Program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at all 14 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample 14 stations. Nearshore sampling captured 21 species of fish including one species that is intolerant of disturbance (i.e., Iowa Darter) and five species that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, Fathead Minnow, Green Sunfish, and Orangespotted Sunfish). A concurrent summer trap net survey was also conducted by LBMA Program Staff. Twelve trap nets were set along the shoreline and in shallow offshore locations that encompassed multiple habitat types. Trap net sampling captured 11 species of fish, including none that are intolerant of disturbance and three that are tolerant of disturbance (i.e., Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, and Common Carp). Black Bullhead and Quillback comprised majority of the trap net catch by number and Quillback and Bigmouth Buffalo comprised a majority by biomass. The nearshore and trap net data were combined with gill net data from a July 2024 survey to describe the fish community and provide a Fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Iowa Darter), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Black Bullhead and Fathead Minnow). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Talcot Lake is adversely impacted by stressors, as indicated by an FIBI score near the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar to previous findings, which indicate that Talcot Lake is impaired for biological health. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Des Moines River - Headwaters watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Talcot Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.

A targeted survey of nearshore fish species in Talcot Lake was conducted on August 27-28, 2024, by Index of Biological Integrity (IBI) Program staff. Sampling sites were evenly spaced around the lake, and each was sampled by backpack electrofishing and seining with a 50-foot or 15-foot seine, where possible. Backpack electrofishing was completed at 14 sampling stations. Similarly, a 50-foot seine was used to sample nine stations, and a 15-foot seine was used at four stations. One station was not seined due to deep soft substrates. Nearshore sampling captured 25 species of fish including one species that is intolerant of disturbance, Iowa Darter, and 6 that are tolerant of disturbance (Bigmouth Buffalo, Black Bullhead, Common Carp, Fathead Minnow, Green Sunfish, and Orangespotted Sunfish). Some of these species of fish are not frequently sampled from Minnesota lakes such as Blackside Darter, Slenderhead Darter, and Sand Shiner. The nearshore data were combined with trap net and gill net data from a July 2024 survey to describe the fish community and provide a fish-based IBI (FIBI) score. The FIBI uses fish community data to measure a lake's health, and the types of fish species present can help identify any stressors that may be negatively affecting the lake environment. In Minnesota lakes, certain fish species cannot survive without clean water and a healthy habitat (e.g., Blackchin Shiner, Iowa Darter, and Rock Bass), while other species are tolerant of degraded conditions (e.g., Bigmouth Buffalo, Fathead Minnow). The FIBI score, composed of several fish community diversity and composition metrics, indicates the overall health of a lake by comparing it to what is expected for a healthy lake. For additional information on the FIBI, search for "lake index of biological integrity" on the mndnr.gov website. A survey of lakeshore habitat on Talcot Lake was also conducted on August 28th, 2024, following the Score the Shore survey protocols. The survey consisted of 67 sites evenly spaced 200 meters around the lake. The average lakewide habitat score indicates the lakewide shoreline condition is moderately high (81.6/100). The average developed site had poor habitat quality, while undeveloped sites generally had high habitat quality. Results from this survey provide evidence that the fish community in Talcot Lake may be adversely impacted by stressors, as indicated by an FIBI score near the general use impairment threshold for aquatic life use determined for similar lakes. These results are similar, although slightly higher than, previous findings which indicated Talcot Lake is impaired for biological health. The survey results will be considered when the biological health of the lake is assessed during the Des Moines River - Headwaters watershed assessment process, which will be completed in coordination with MN Pollution Control Agency. You can help protect the fish community in Talcot Lake by reducing runoff, maintaining natural shorelines, and preventing the spread of invasive species.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Channel Catfish, Yellow Perch, Walleye, Black Crappie, and Northern Pike in Talcot. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

Minnesota DNR records list public access for Talcot. Check the DNR LakeFinder page for the launch type and directions before you go.

Talcot has a maximum depth of 6 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Talcot is from 2025.

No invasive species are on record for Talcot in Minnesota DNR data. Always clean, drain, and dry your equipment to help keep it that way.