Twin Lakes Fishing in Benson County, North Dakota

• Overview

  Twin Lakes stands in Benson County, North Dakota. The surface lies 1,440 feet up. Around 234 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. With 6.1 miles or so of shoreline, boat anglers cover ground the bank cannot. Fort Totten is the closest place, 4.9 miles off. For a city, Fargo is 132 miles off. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Twin Lakes

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. County-wide records name black bullhead, white bass, northern pike, striped bass and tadpole madtom. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Fish Twin Lakes where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 68°F and January at 5°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about mid November. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. Anyone fishing Twin Lakes regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Sweetwater Lake, 5.8 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. The position on Twin Lakes is worth confirming on the day.