Big Twin

Big Twin is a 457-acre lake located near the city of Trimont in Martin County. The lake has a maximum depth of 18.0 feet and is a class 43 lake. Big Twin is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Black Crappie and Yellow Perch. Big Twin Lake was stocked with Lower Mississippi Strain (LMS) Walleye fingerlings in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020 (to finish the 2019 quota), and 2021 in an effort to get this strain established in additional waterbodies. Big Twin Lake was stocked with LMS Walleye because it has traditionally supported a good Walleye population and has historically had sporadic natural reproduction and thus likely has habitat for spawning walleye providing environmental conditions are conducive to natural reproduction. Big Twin has not been stocked since 2021 because natural reproduction has been adequate to maintain the population so far. The summer 2024 survey showed that naturally produced year-classes in 2022 and 2023 made up 78% of the fish aged in the gill net sample. In the 2025 sample, LMS contributed 66%, based on genetic analysis. Electrofishing was conducted in October 2025 to determine if natural reproduction was present and if stocking was needed. Young-of-the-year (YOY) Walleye were captured at a rate of 128.0 per hour, which indicates that natural reproduction occurred in Big Twin Lake in 2025. Analysis of fall electrofishing data by DNR staff indicated that a catch rate greater than 5 per hour can result in a successful year class and greater than 25 per hour often produces a year class. Therefore, potential exists for Big Twin Lake. Given the highest catch rate of Walleye in gill nets in 2024 and the high natural reproduction catch rates in 2022 (161.3 per hour), 2023 (182.6 per hour), and 2025 (128.0 per hour) stocking was not advised in 2025. Walleye fingerlings ranged from 8.7 to 10.6 inches and averaged 9.7 inches. These fish should have a high chance of survival to catchable sizes. Future fall electrofishing and summer gill netting every 4 years will continue to monitor the population and determine the amount of stocking that may be needed to maintain the population.

Big Twin is a 457-acre lake located near the city of Trimont in Martin County. The lake has a maximum depth of 18.0 feet and is a class 43 lake. Big Twin is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Black Crappie and Yellow Perch. Big Twin Lake was stocked with Lower Mississippi Strain (LMS) Walleye fingerlings in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020 (to finish the 2019 quota), and 2021 in an effort to get this strain established in additional waterbodies. Big Twin Lake was stocked with LMS Walleye because it has traditionally supported a good Walleye population and has historically had sporadic natural reproduction and thus likely has habitat for spawning walleye providing environmental conditions are conducive to natural reproduction. Big Twin has not been stocked since 2021 because natural reproduction has been adequate to maintain the population so far. The summer 2024 survey showed that naturally produced year-classes in 2022 and 2023 made up 78% of the fish aged in the gill net sample. Electrofishing was conducted in September 2024 to determine if natural reproduction was present and if stocking was needed. Young-of-the-year (YOY) Walleye were captured at a rate of 14 per hour, which indicates that natural reproduction occurred in Big Twin Lake in 2024. Analysis of fall electrofishing data by DNR staff indicated that a catch rate greater than 5 per hour can result in a successful year class and greater than 25 per hour often produces a year class. Therefore, potential exists for Big Twin Lake. Given the highest catch rate of Walleye in gill nets in 2024 and the high natural reproduction catch rates in 2022 (161.3 per hour) and 2023 (182.6 per hour), stocking was not advised in 2024. Walleye fingerlings ranged from 6.5 to 8 inches and averaged 7.5 inches. These fish should have a high chance of survival to catchable sizes. Future fall electrofishing and summer gill netting every 4 years will continue to monitor the population and determine the amount of stocking that may be needed to maintain the population.

Big Twin is a 457-acre lake located near the city of Trimont in Martin County. The lake has a maximum depth of 18.0 feet and is a deeper southwestern Minnesota Lake. Big Twin is managed primarily for Walleye and secondarily for Black crappie and Yellow Perch. A standard survey was conducted in June 2024 using gill nets and trap nets. Walleye catch was 25.3 per gill net, the second greatest catch rate every recorded for Big Twin Lake. Since 2015, Lower Mississippi Strain (LMS) Walleye fingerling, yearlings, and adults (about 3,400 pounds) have been stocked to boost the population and hopefully reduce the amount of stocking in the future. Lower Mississippi Strain Walleye have been shown to naturally reproduce when established and if there is adequate spawning habitat in southern Minnesota. Big Twin is no exception, LMS Walleye have been stocked and the population is now showing the ability to reproduce naturally with natural year classes observed in 2020, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Particularly strong year classes in 2022 and 2023 are currently dominating the population with 78% of the fish aged in the 2024 sample. While the overall average length of Walleye in the gill net sample was only 13.7 inches, the size distribution of all Walleye sampled still indicated good abundances of small, medium, and large Walleye. While 69% of gill netted Walleye were small and less than 15 inches, 18% were medium and within the sweet spot of 15 to 20 inches and 13% were large and over 20 inches. Overall, Walleye appear to be abundant in Big Twin with many decent sized fish for anglers in 2025 and beyond. Black Crappie were caught at a rate of 1.1 per trap net in 2024, which is below the expected range for similar lakes (1.2 to 20.5 per trap net). Lengths of Black Crappie ranged from just over 8 inches to nearly 13.5 inches with an average of 9 inches. Black Crappie were plump, indicating they were foraging successfully. While the catch rate is low, MN DNR will restock to help boost the population. While some adult fish remain, and it is possible they could eventually rebound on their own, stocking should help quickly re-establish a quality angling opportunity that has come to be expected for Big Twin. Historically, Yellow Perch have maintained a low abundance in Big Twin Lake with catch rates less than 10 per gill net since the late 1980's, except in 2016 when the catch rate was nearly 200 per gill net. In 2024, the Yellow Perch catch rate was 1.7 per gill net, a large decrease from the 2016 catch rate and a further decline from the previous survey in 2020 (8.7 per gill net). Not much can be said about the Yellow Perch in the sample from 2024 apart from 4 were caught. While those Yellow Perch were harvestable sizes over 10 inches, the lack of young Yellow Perch is concerning. Yellow Perch will be re-stocked during the spring of 2025 to boost the population. While a robust population of Yellow Perch is import for anglers to harvest, it may be of more importance to the Walleye population to maintain (or boost) levels that were observed in 2024. Channel Catfish catch rates were on the increase from 2004 to 2020 when they reached a high of 29.3 per gill net. However, in 2024, the catch rate declined to 12 per gill net. Channel Catfish ranged in length from 11 to just over 27 inches with an average length just over 19 inches. It is possible that the larger size of Channel Catfish observed in the sample may indicate that they are slowly growing to sizes larger than the mesh sampling capabilities of MN DNR gill nets. Therefore, the population decline observed from 2020 to 2024 may be real but could also be a by-product of gill net sampling selectivity. Channel Catfish can compete with other predators for limited food, so it is possible that the Channel Catfish population could be reduced due to higher Walleye abundance. However, it will be at the forefront of our work on Big Twin to ensure that the Walleye population does not decline with increasing competition from other predators. Other species sampled included Black Bullhead, Bluegill, Common Carp, Freshwater Drum, and Largemouth Bass. Of these species, Largemouth Bass may be the most important to determine population status into the future as another source of competition for Walleye, Black Crappie, and Yellow Perch.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Channel Catfish, White Crappie, Walleye, Bluegill, and Pumpkinseed in Big Twin. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

Big Twin has a maximum depth of 18 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

The most recent Minnesota DNR survey data for the main sport fish in Big Twin is from 2024.

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