Upper Twin

Upper Twin (North Twin) is located in southern Hubbard County on the Hubbard-Wadena County line. Upper Twin is a very shallow lake with a maximum depth of only 12 feet. Due to its shallow depth, Upper Twin has abundant growth of both submerged and emergent aquatic vegetation. Upper Twin is connected to Lower Twin (South Twin) by a small segment of the Shell River which flows through both of these lakes. There is a state-owned public access located on the south end of Upper Twin, in the Shell River channel connecting Upper and Lower Twin Lakes. Upper Twin is a popular lake for panfish and Northern Pike fishing. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical and other characteristics. Upper Twin is in lake class 39. Class 39 lakes are generally very shallow and have a high littoral area (area of lake less than 15 feet deep). Other class 39 lakes in the Park Rapids management area include: First Crow Wing, Fourth Crow Wing, Ham, Hennepin, Hungryman, Minnie, Paine, Peysenski, Portage, Shallow, Stocking, and Wolf. Panfish are a popular choice for anglers' year-around on Upper Twin. Present and past surveys have shown the Bluegill population in Upper Twin to fluctuate from low to moderate numbers. Anglers will find good numbers of Bluegill and Pumpkinseed in the 6-8 inch size range. Black Crappie are also present but have been sampled in low numbers. Upper Twin supports a good Northern Pike population. Abundant Northern Pike spawning habitat of shallow submerged aquatic vegetation results in excellent reproduction and recruitment of Northern Pike in Upper Twin. Sampled Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 23.5 inches and 3.9 pounds with fish measured up to 36.4 inches. While not know as a Walleye Lake, anglers will find the Upper Twin can provide some good fishing especially early in the season. The Walleye population in Upper Twin has fluctuated from low to moderate numbers for this lake class. Sampled Walleye ranged in length from 18.1 to 24.4 inches. Yellow Perch, an important forage species were sampled in good numbers. Sampled Yellow Perch ran small in size with an average length of 6.4 inches and fish measured up to 8.6 inches. Upper Twin supports both Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass populations. Largemouth Bass are found in low to moderate numbers compared to other area lakes. Smallmouth Bass are present in low numbers and seem to be limited to the inlet and outlet areas. White Sucker and Redhorse are abundant in Upper Twin, and anglers pursuing those species will find high numbers in the inlet and outlet areas. Faucet snails and curly leaf pondweed, both aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Upper Twin. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boats before leaving the access.

Upper Twin (North Twin) is located in southern Hubbard County, on the Hubbard-Wadena County line. Upper Twin is a very shallow lake with a maximum depth of only 12 feet. Due to its shallow depth, Upper Twin has abundant growth of both submerged and emergent aquatic vegetation. Upper Twin is connected to Lower Twin (South Twin) by a small segment of the Shell River which flows through both of these lakes. There is a state-owned public access located on the south end of Upper Twin, in the Shell River channel connecting Upper and Lower Twin lakes. Upper Twin is a popular lake for panfish and Northern Pike fishing. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Upper Twin is in lake class 39. Class 39 lakes are generally very shallow and have a high littoral area (area of lake less than 15 feet deep). Other class 39 lakes in the Park Rapids management area include: First Crow Wing, Fourth Crow Wing, Ham, Hennepin, Hungryman, Minnie, Paine, Peysenski, Portage, Shallow, Stocking, and Wolf. Panfish are a popular choice for anglers' year-around on Upper Twin. Present and past surveys have shown the Bluegill population in Upper Twin to fluctuate from low to moderate numbers. Anglers will find good numbers of Bluegill and Pumpkinseed in the 6-8 inch size range. Black Crappie are also present but have been sampled in low numbers. Upper Twin supports a good Northern Pike population. Abundant Northern Pike spawning habitat of shallow submerged aquatic vegetation results in excellent reproduction and recruitment of Northern Pike in Upper Twin. Sampled Northern Pike had an average length and weight of 22.5 inches and 2.9 pounds, with fish measured up to 37.3 inches. While not known as a Walleye lake, anglers will find that Upper Twin can provide some good fishing, especially early in the season. The Walleye population in Upper Twin has fluctuated from low to moderate numbers for this lake class. Walleye ranged in length from 14.6 to 28.5 inches. Yellow Perch, an important forage species for Walleye, were sampled in good numbers. Yellow Perch were an average length of 6.8 inches with fish measured up to 10.8 inches. Upper Twin has both Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass populations. Largemouth Bass are found in low to moderate numbers compared to other area lakes. Smallmouth Bass are present in low numbers and seem to be limited to the inlet and outlet areas. White Sucker and Redhorse are abundant in Upper Twin, and anglers pursuing these species will find high numbers in the inlet and outlet areas. Faucet snails and curly leaf pondweed, both aquatic invasive species (AIS) have been identified in Upper Twin. To avoid spreading AIS, lake users are required to remove all aquatic plants or animals from their watercraft and drain all water from their boats before leaving the access.

Upper Twin Lake is located 2 miles south of Hubbard in southwestern Hubbard County. Upper Twin is separated from Lower Twin by a small segment of the Shell River, which runs through both lakes and is navigable by boat. Upper Twin has a surface area of 212.5 acres and a maximum depth of 12 feet. Upper Twin Lake is very shallow, with an average depth of 6 feet. A DNR public access is located on the Shell River, off County Road 21 which runs between Lower and Upper Twin. Upper and Lower Twin Lakes are managed together, and they provide a multi species opportunities to the angler with walleye, northern pike, yellow perch and panfish. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has classified Minnesota's lakes into 43 different types based on physical, chemical, and other characteristics. Upper Twin is in Lake Class 39. Class 39 lakes generally are shallow, have a very high littoral area and a regularly shaped shoreline. Other class 39 lakes in the Park Rapids area include: Ham, Hennepin, Loon, Minnie, Paine, Peysenski, Portage, Rice, Shallow, Wolf, Hungryman and Stocking. Anglers can expect to find an abundant population of northern pike in Upper Twin. Sampled northern pike had an average length and weight of 18 inches and 1.3 pounds, with pike measured up to 22 inches. Bluegill and black crappie populations appear low in abundance with some bluegills of acceptable size for anglers. The larger bluegills were in the 6-9 inch range, while most black crappies were smaller than 9 inches. Currently faucet snails and curly leaf pondweed, both aquatic invasive species (AIS), have been identified in Upper Twin. 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.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, and Black Crappie in Upper Twin. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Upper Twin has a maximum depth of 12 feet and a mean depth of 6 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Upper Twin is from 2023.

Yes — Upper Twin has confirmed faucet snail and zebra mussel. Clean, drain, and dry your equipment to avoid spreading invasives to other waters.