Franklin

Franklin Lake is a 1,336-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in northwestern Otter Tail County approximately ten miles northeast of Pelican Rapids, MN. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 48 feet; however, 56% of the lake is less than 15 feet deep. There is a shallow, unnavigable outlet along the south shoreline that flows into Crystal Lake. Historical Secchi disk readings have ranged from 5.1 to 14.5 feet. Residential development is scattered around the entire shoreline of the lake. The development consists primarily of homes and cottages. DNR owned public water accesses are located on the east and north shorelines. Shoal water substrates in the main lake basin consist primarily of sand and gravel with muck being the prevalent substrate in the three western bays. Stands of Hardstem Bulrush, Common Cattail, and other emergent plants are scattered throughout the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattail provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms and absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. To maintain the excellent water quality and angling that this lake has to offer, it is imperative to preserve the quality of the aquatic habitat. A 10.0-inch minimum length limit for Black Crappie, along with a reduced daily limit of five was implemented in 2006 to maintain the size structure of the Black Crappie population. A special spring trap netting survey was conducted in 2025 to analyze the Black Crappie population. Catch data indicate that Black Crappies are moderately abundant. The 2020-year class is strong and should provide consistently good Black Crappie angling for several years. Fish sampled ranged in size from 7.0 to 12.0 inches in length, with an average length of 10.7 inches. Ninety-three percent of the crappies were 10.0 inches or greater in length. Crappie growth rates are good with an average length of 10.9 inches at five years of age. Anglers can also maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future. Franklin Lake was listed as infested with zebra mussels in 2016. Aquatic invasive species are threatening Minnesota waters. Aquatic invasive species can potentially harm water quality, water recreation, aquatic habitat, native species, and fish populations. Anglers can help prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by following watercraft transportation laws.

Franklin Lake is a 1,336-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in northwestern Otter Tail County approximately ten miles northeast of Pelican Rapids, MN. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 48 feet; however, 56% of the lake is less than 15 feet deep. There is a shallow, un-navigable outlet along the south shoreline that flows into Crystal Lake. The secchi disk reading was 9.5 feet. Historical secchi disc readings have ranged from 5.1 to 14.5 feet. Residential development is scattered around the entire shoreline of the lake. The development consists primarily of homes and cottages. DNR owned public water accesses are located on the east and north shorelines. There are stands of Hardstem Bulrush, Common Cattail, and other emergent plants scattered around the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattail provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. To maintain the excellent water quality and angling that this lake has to offer, it is imperative to preserve the quality of the aquatic habitat. A gillnetting survey was conducted to analyze the Walleye and Northern Pike populations. Walleye abundance has remained stable at a moderate level over the series of recent surveys. Walleyes ranged in length from 10.3 to 24.1 inches with an average length and weight of 16.3 inches and 1.7 pounds. Walleyes attain an average length of 16.3 inches and 1.7 pounds. Northern Pike have historically been abundant. Northern Pike reproduction rates are consistently high and size structure quality is low. Northern Pike ranged in length 14.8 to 31.3 inches with an average length and weight of 20.5 inches and 1.8 pounds. Pike attain an average length of 20.1 inches at five years of age. A reduced daily bag limit regulation for sunfish (5 per day) was implemented in 2021. The objective of the regulation is to improve and maintain the quality of the Bluegill size structure. A special regulation designed to maintain the quality of the Black Crappie population was implemented in 2016. The regulation consists of a 10.0-inch minimum length limit and a daily bag limit of five. Anglers can also maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future. Franklin Lake was listed as infested with zebra mussels in 2016. Aquatic invasive species are threatening Minnesota waters. Aquatic invasive species can potentially harm water quality, water recreation, aquatic habitat, native species, and fish populations. Anglers can help prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by following watercraft transportation laws.

Franklin Lake is a 1,336-acre mesotrophic (moderately fertile) lake located in northwestern Otter Tail County approximately ten miles northeast of Pelican Rapids, MN. The immediate watershed is composed primarily of hardwood woodlots. The maximum depth is 48 feet; however, 56% of the lake is less than 15 feet deep. There is a shallow, un-navigable outlet along the south shoreline that flows into Crystal Lake. Historical secchi disk readings have ranged from 5.1 to 14.5 feet. Residential development is scattered around the entire shoreline of the lake. The development consists primarily of homes and cottages. DNR owned public water accesses are located on the east and north shorelines. There are stands of Hardstem Bulrush, Common Cattail, and other emergent plants scattered around the lake. Emergent aquatic plants such as bulrush and cattail provide valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and are critical for maintaining good water quality. They protect shorelines and lake bottoms, and can actually absorb and break down polluting chemicals. Emergent plants provide spawning areas for fish such as Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass, and panfish. They also serve as important nursery areas for all species of fish. Because of their ecological value, emergent plants may not be removed without a DNR permit. To maintain the excellent water quality and angling that this lake has to offer, it is imperative to preserve the quality of the aquatic habitat. A reduced daily bag limit regulation for sunfish (5 per day) was implemented in 2021. The objective of the regulation is to improve and maintain the quality of the Bluegill size structure. A special spring trapnetting survey was conducted to collect baseline data on the Bluegill population, which will be used for regulation evaluation purposes in future surveys. The Bluegill population is abundant with a moderate quality size structure. Fifty percent of the Bluegill sample was 7.0 inches or greater in length, while 11% was 8.0 inches or greater in length. Age data indicate that Bluegill reproduction is consistently good. Bluegills attain an average length of 8.1 inches at eight years of age. A special regulation designed to maintain the quality of the Black Crappie population was implemented in 2016. The regulation consists of a 10.0-inch minimum length limit and a daily bag limit of five. Anglers can also maintain the quality of fishing by practicing selective harvest. Selective harvest encourages the release of medium to large size fish while allowing the harvest of the more abundant smaller fish for table fare. Releasing the medium to large fish will ensure that the lake will have enough spawning age fish on an annual basis and will provide anglers with more opportunities to catch large fish in the future. Franklin Lake was listed as infested with zebra mussels in 2016. Aquatic invasive species are threatening Minnesota waters. Aquatic invasive species can potentially harm water quality, water recreation, aquatic habitat, native species, and fish populations. Anglers can help prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species by following watercraft transportation laws.

Based on Minnesota DNR survey data, anglers target Hybrid Sunfish, Walleye, Black Crappie, Largemouth Bass, and Pumpkinseed in Franklin. See the full species list above for catch rates, size structure, and quality scores.

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

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

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

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