Twenty-One

Lake Twenty-One is a small, 28 acre lake located within the Paul Bunyan State Forest in Hubbard County. There is a public access and day-use area with picnic sites on the north shore of the lake. There are DNR maintained primitive campground sites on the east shore and south shore between Lake Twenty-One and Nelson Lake. Lake Twenty-One is susceptible to over-harvest from angling due to its small size, low fertility, and slow growth rates of game fish. Anglers must practice selective harvest if they want to improve or maintain the fishery in Lake Twenty-One. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical and chemical characteristics. Lake Twenty-One is in lake class 36. Class 36 lakes are small in size and have a large littoral area (area of the lake less than 15 feet in depth). Other class 36 lakes in the Park Rapids management area include Lord, Owl, and Schroeder. Lake Twenty-One provides fishing opportunities for Northern Pike, panfish, and Largemouth Bass. Present and past surveys have shown that Lake Twenty-One supports an abundant Northern Pike population. Sampled Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 23.9 inches and 3.2 pounds, with pike measured up to 29.4 inches. Anglers will find moderate numbers of Largemouth Bass and a very abundant Bluegill and Pumpkinseed population. Bluegill and Pumpkinseed tend to run small in size, with low numbers of fish over 6 inches in length sampled. Bluegills in Lake Twenty-One have slow growth rates when compared to area lakes. Currently no aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Lake Twenty-One. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boat before leaving the access.

Lake Twenty-One is a small 28 acre lake located within the Paul Bunyan State Forest in Hubbard County. There is a public access and day-use area with picnic sites on the north shore of the lakes. There are DNR Forestry campground sites on the east shore and the south shore between Lake Twenty-One and Nelson Lake. Lake Twenty-One is susceptible to over-harvest from angling due to its small size, low fertility, and slow growth rates of game fish. Anglers must practice selective harvest if they want to improve or maintain the fishery in Lake Twenty-One.The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical and chemical characteristics. Lake Twenty-One is in lake class 36. Other area lakes in this same classification include Lord, Owl, and Shroeder.Lake Twenty-One provides fishing opportunities for northern pike, largemouth bass, and panfish. Anglers will find good numbers of northern pike, however, small, "hammer handle" pike dominate the population. Sampled northern pike had an average length and weight of 19.1 inches and 1.7 pounds with fish measured up to 34.7 inches. Anglers will find good numbers of largemouth bass and a very abundant bluegill and pumpkinseed population. Bluegill and pumpkinseed in the 5-6 inch size range are common, however, a few larger fish are present that you can sort through the small ones and still get a few "eaters". Bluegill growth rates were slow when compared to other class 36 lakes. Yellow perch were sampled in low numbers compared to past surveys. Present and past surveys have shown that a few yellow perch are of an acceptable size (9-11 inches). Sampled yellow perch had a heavy infestation of yellow grub. Yellow grub is a parasite that shows up in the fillet tissue of fish. It is not harmful to humans, but many anglers find it unsightly. One 24.8 inch walleye was sampled. Walleye have not been stocked into Lake Twenty-One.

Lake Twenty-One is a small lake (28 acres) in the Paul Bunyan State Forest. The lake has a DNR Forestry campground and access on the north side with no other development. Northern pike were stocked in Lake Twenty-One in 1981 and 1984. Northern pike natural reproduction has maintained a population with high abundance and good average size of 2.6 pounds. Bluegill numbers are high but are not as high as they were in 1988. If bluegill numbers decrease more, the size structure should improve to have more bluegills of quality size or larger. Largemouth bass are present and even though sampled in small numbers the samples were of different sizes and year classes. The yellow perch are abundant and provide both an excellent forage base for the predator species and a good fishery of their own. Pumpkinseed sunfish are the only other fish species that has been sampled during investigations.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Largemouth Bass, Walleye, and Bluegill in Twenty-One. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Twenty-One has a maximum depth of 51.5 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Twenty-One is from 2015. Surveys this old should be treated with some caution — fish populations change over time.

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