South Twin

South Twin Lake is a 118-acre lake located six miles south of Aurora. It is accessed by a gravel ramp on the lake's south shore with a large parking area available for several vehicles with trailers. The lake has a maximum depth of 48 feet and dark brown water. South Twin was thermally stratified on July 15, 2024, with a surface temperature of 77 F and a bottom temperature of 47 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish throughout the water column. There is one inlet on the lakes southeast side and the lone outlet flows out the north side to North Twin Lake. Shoreline substrates are mostly sand and rubble, and aquatic plants grow to a depth of 8 feet. There is also a popular swimming beach and picnic area on the northwest shore. The current stocking strategy is for walleye fingerlings to be stocked on a generally every other year rotation. More recently (the past four stocking events from 2015 to 2021) an average of 2,697 walleye fingerlings were stocked every odd year. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 3.5 fish/net which was below the average of past surveys on South Twin Lake. The yield was 3.2 pounds/net, which was also lower than average. Fish species sampled were yellow bullhead, white sucker, walleye, yellow perch, burbot, and northern pike. Trap nets caught fish at an overall rate of 24.4 fish/net which was better than average compared to past surveys on South Twin Lake. Yield was 12.7 pounds/net which was also higher than the historic average. Trap net catches were dominated by black crappie, with modest numbers of bullheads, bluegill, northern pike, and a single yellow perch also sampled. Three walleye were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 0.5 fish/net, although an additional 12 were also caught in trap nets (1.3 fish/net). The gillnet catch rate was the lowest catch rate on record for the lake. The trap net catch rate, however, was slightly above average compared to past surveys on South Twin. Walleye lengths from the combined catch ranged from 7 to almost 24 inches with an average of 13 inches. Fish were aged up to seven years old and all the aged fish came from stocked years. Black crappie were sampled in trap nets at a rate of 15.4 fish/net, well above average for the lake. Lengths ranged from just under 5 inches to 12 inches with an average of 9 inches. Almost 80% of the crappie sampled were 8 inches or larger, which should provide ample opportunities for anglers on the lake to catch and harvest some fish. Growth rates were above average for the area, as it took about four years for fish to reach 8 inches. Ages ranged from 3 to 8 years. The bluegill trap net catch was 2.8 fish/net which was just above average compared to past surveys on South Twin. Sizes ranged from 3 to nearly 9 inches with an average of over 7 inches. Ages ranged from 2 to 7 years old. Growth rates were good with the average fish approaching 7 inches by age-4. The northern pike gillnet catch was 0.2 fish/net which was the lowest catch rate on record for the lake. Similar to walleye, pike catch rates were higher in trap nets (1.7 fish/net) than in gillnets. Lengths ranged from 11 to 25 inches with an average of 18 inches.

South Twin Lake is a 118 acre lake located six miles south of Aurora. It is accessed by a gravel ramp on the lake's south shore with a large parking area available for several vehicles with trailers. The lake has a maximum depth of 48 feet and dark brown water. South Twin was thermally stratified on August 2, 2021 with a surface temperature of 73 F and a bottom temperature of 43 F. Oxygen levels were adequate for gamefish to a depth of 34.0 feet where the temperature was 44 F. There is one inlet on the lakes south east side and the lone outlet flows out the north side to North Twin Lake. Shoreline substrates are mostly sand and rubble, and aquatic plants grow to a depth of 8 feet. There is also a popular swimming beach and picnic area on South Twins northwest shore. The current stocking strategy is for walleye fingerlings to be stocked on a generally every other year rotation. More recently (the past four stocking events from 2015 to 2021) an average of 2,697 walleye fingerlings were stocked every odd year. The overall gillnet catch rate for all fish combined was 8.8 fish/net which was just below the average of past surveys on South Twin Lake. The yield was 8.9 lbs/net, which was slightly better than average. Fish species sampled were yellow bullhead, yellow perch, northern pike, walleye, bluegill, and black crappie. Trap nets caught fish at an overall rate of 16.3 fish/net which was better than average compared to past surveys on South Twin Lake. Yield was 9.0 lbs/net which was right at the historic average. Trap net catches were dominated by black crappie and bluegill, although smaller numbers of northern pike, walleye, yellow bullhead, yellow perch, and common shiner were also sampled. Four walleye were sampled in gill nets for a catch rate of 0.7 fish/net, although an additional 12 were also caught in trap nets (1.3 fish/net). The gillnet catch rate was below average compared to other similar lakes and the lowest catch rate on record for the lake. The trapnet catch rate was however above average when compared to other similar lakes and slightly above average compared to past surveys on South Twin. Walleye lengths from the combined catch ranged from 9 to just over 19 inches with an average of 13 inches. Fish were aged up to six years old and half of the aged fish came from stocked years. The northern pike gillnet catch was 1.8 fish/net which was better than average for the lake but below average compared to other similar lakes. Lengths ranged from 16 to just over 40 inches with an average of 23 inches. The 40 inch pike from this survey was the largest sampled since a 43 inch fish was caught in a trap net in 1987. Thirteen additional pike were caught in trap nets, the largest individual measured 34 inches. Seventy-five black crappie were sampled in trap nets for a catch rate of 8.3 fish/net which was good compared to other similar lakes and right around average compared to past surveys on South Twin. Lengths ranged from 4 to 12 inches with an average of 8.5 inches. Ages ranged from 1 to 10 years old with no missing year classes. Growth rates were good with the average five year old fish measuring nearly 10 inches. The bluegill trapnet catch was 4.0 fish/net which was below average compared to other similar lakes, but better than average compared to past surveys on South Twin. Sizes ranged from just over 3 to nearly 10 inches with an average of nearly 6 inches. Ages ranged from 1 to 9 years old. Growth rates were good with the average fish reaching 8 inches by age-5. The yellow perch gillnet catch rate was 2.3 fish/net which was average for the lake but below average compared to other similar lakes. Lengths were similar to past surveys with a range from 5 to 11 inches and an average of nearly 7 inches. The yellow bullhead gillnet catch rate was 3.5 fish/net. The trapnet catch was 1.0 fish/net. Both of these catch rates were the highest on record for the lake. Sizes were similar to past surveys.

South Twin Lake is located approximately 6 miles south of Aurora within the Superior National Forest. This lake has very dark or bog stained water with low clarity. Most of the development has occurred on the south and west sides. A gravel boat ramp and large parking area can be found on the south side of the lake for public access. The Town of White maintains a public swimming beach and picnic area located near the northwest shore. Eight species of fish were sampled during the 2018 survey of South Twin Lake. Walleye and black crappie were the most common species sampled in the gill nets and trap nets, respectively. Relatively low numbers of bluegill, northern pike, yellow perch, black and yellow bullhead and white sucker were also observed. Walleye numbers in 2018 (3.5/gill net) were higher than the long term average for this lake (1.3/gill net) and above average (2.8/gill net) when compared to other similar lakes in the area. The average walleye sampled measured 11.7 inches which is smaller than the historic average of 13.4 inches. The largest walleye sampled was 19.8 inches long. Walleye fingerlings are stocked during odd-numbered years and in 2018 ninety percent of the walleye aged were from years where stocking occurred. Black crappie numbers in 2018 (6.3/trap net) were lower than the long term average for this lake (9.8/trap net) and above average (3.3/trap net) compared to other similar area lakes. The average crappie sampled was 8.9 inches which is larger then the historic average of 7.6 inches. Thirty-three percent of the crappie sampled in 2018 were 10 inches or larger with a maximum length of 11.7 inches observed. Bluegill numbers in 2018 (2.6/trap net) were similar to the long term average for this lake (2.4/trap net) and below average (5.0/trap net) compared to other similar area lakes. The average bluegill sampled was 8.6 inches which is larger than the historic average of 6.5 inches.

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

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

South Twin has a maximum depth of 48 feet, per Minnesota DNR data.

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

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