Heading up to the area the third week in Sept. for a fall fishing trip. Did well on Franklin the last full week of July. We caught a few nice walleyes trolling rapalas in about 18-20 fow. Just wondering if anyone fishes this lake. Any info. or fishing stories would be great. Thanks

fished it last fall and got them vertical jiggin in 30+ fow. Caught some crappies suspended 15-20 fow down. Remeber to bring em up slow.

Thanks for the reply! I'm surprised they were still that deep. Jig and a minnow?

I fish it for largemouth and it is a great lake. Northerns run small but plentiful. Local swear there are big Crappies, but those have eluded me. Found lots of little ones around 8-10"
Nice water clarity. Lots of easy structure to fish.

Franklin is a great lake. I'm biased though being I grew up fishing the lake and have a good three-and-a-half decades under my belt. Structure is plentiful and the scenery pretty nice too. Walleyes have gone through cycles on the lake; 70's excellent, 80's tapered off to poor, 90's picked back up to much larger average size, and presently are in OK numbers and decent size. The lake is small and appreciates released fish.

The northerns have always been small and IMO due largely to the big predator fish being taken out in winter. Bass fishing is excellent and smallmouth, yes smallmouth, are on the rise and a welcome treat when fishing other species.

The big, massive and abundant "Franklin" crappies were for the most part "fished out" in the later 80's and early 90's but do exist in smaller numbers. I remember spring-time crappie fishing in one of the bays w/ about 30 other boats and two TV camera crews. My lab jumped into the water after a beaver and swam right through the dozens and dozens of bobbers in the "honey hole" and eventually made the news that night on both channels. Those were the hay-days. Unfortunately, the exposure and high pressure on the resource took a huge hit that year and a few to follow and has never rebounded to that amazing level of fishing. I think I kept about 10 fish that spring but CNR'd about 200 alone - most fish in that 12"-14" range. I miss that!

Anyway, it's just one of the areas great lakes. Enjoy it this September.

Good post regarding lake history. From Charlevoix, MI and have spent 3-4 weeks each Sept. in Brainerd for the last 6 yrs. Will try Det. Lakes for a week on Sept. 5th. We do catch and release for Walleyes only but also like any bite. Been on the internet regarding Lake Franlin and Little Pine for the last 6 months. Look forward to testing my skill on both lakes. Will have my computer with me so will update as to what happens. The people of MN have been a pleasure to meet and socialize with. Good people! Best to all and enjoy the special things Sept. in MN offers.

You chosen a good time of year and two good lakes for your trip IMO. Good fishing!

Appreciate all the replies. Good to hear about the smallmouth population as well. We have caught one there in the past few summers. They are a riot to catch. We also caught one nice slab crappie this summer. Do they get hit pretty hard in the winter? Thanks again and good luck to everybody.

I've found the crappies are more difficult to get in the winter. In spring it's been fairly easy but, again, size is down significantly from years past. Many ice houses go up in "church bay" - on the north end of the lake. Folks are typically spearing early in the season and going after crappies late. I've tried it up there but it's not very consistent. Others may have had better luck. I have more fun hunting the mid-day walleyes myself.

The lakes are loosing a lot of water temp this week. Fishing will only get better from here on out.

Did anyone get out on Labor Day and have any luck?

I fish the north end of the lake that time of year off deep breaks in 25+ fow, jig and minnow. Some nice fish taken out of there.

Made it here from MI. Fished yesterday from about 8am to 2pm.
Started great with a 26+ inch walleye, then about one 12-14 incher an hour. Had 8 total, all released and all on bottom in about 25-30ft. Lots of short hits, my guess is very small walleyes. Bad weather today so I will checkout the launch at Little Pine. Day off!

Sounds like MI did just what you said fisherdog. Hopefully they are biting in a week!! Hopefully MI lets us know how the rest of his trip went. Does anyone know the story behind the house/motel that is on the south side of the lake? It is massive!!

MI Friend here! Fished Little Pine day before (Monday) No wind, nice lake. Saw a big house on Little Pine, is that the house you are talking about? If so I have some info. On little Pine got 7 small walleyes (10-14 inch) and a huge crappie in 5 hours. Mostly just did scouting. All on bouncers and all in 24-40ft. Major bait fish in that lake. Fished Big Detroit yesterday, off the south launch. On problem with walleyes except still very samll. Had 10 in 4 hours, all between 10-15 inches. Bad day today, we planned to fish then a walking trip to the Dunston Locks. Wife said she did not feel well enough to fish so off to the park and locks. Got out of the car and my wife had double vision and no balance, not good! Off to St. Mary's emergency room. They did a CT and found no major issues. Hopefully medication reaction. She is still not well. Cannot say enough about the St. Mary's staff and a Dr. Martin. Hope to fish tomorrow, but depends. We leave DTL on Friday for 2 weeks on Pelican in Brainerd. Or expectations of DTL were exceeded. Great people who seem to take pride in there community. Clean is good! I will let you know what happens tomorrow.

Please ignore the typing errors in the previous post. The computer I have with me will not allow me to edit before I post the rough draft.