Franklin Pierce

[Phrog Phil]

Fished it today. Very very busy lake,not a single fishing boat. Lots of Wake boarders/water skiers plus young people on jet ski. Some would drive by at speed a cast distance away,one kid on a jet ski would just do donuts near us and jump his wake over and over. When I have to think about stepping off the deck because so rough,it’s rough! Water in low 80’s and the lake is low,some of our jigging spots are now just about dirt. Fishing was really tough and we never figured them out tried 20 ft and tried shallow. Our top water fish came in 20ft of water. Has anyone else struggled there the last few years?

[Reel Northern Bass]

Last time I fished there was during one of the BBC tournaments. Can't remember if it was the day Tim got a 4.7 something smallmouth, or the day that Jerry won with 11 lbs on two largemouth. Those were back to back years and I can't remember which year it was, but that's how long it has been. I have friends that fish out there somewhat often and have said the same thing, the pleasure boat traffic has ruined the fun of fishing that lake, and the quality hasn't quite been there for them. Was debating going out there to get my high school team some practice time as they all live in Hillsboro, but if the water is that low then I'd rather not. I'll just keep taking them to Deering Reservoir, which is surprisingly not low at all as of last week.

[bassboat1]

FP is in my regular midweek rotation. I'm usually either cranking rock from 10'-20' or flipping wood or the steep banks up top (only a couple of docks pay off regularly). Bait can be a factor, if the flow is up (there are usually a couple of grassbeds near the inlet too, but not this year). That said, scratching out a limit can be a chore.

[plbass]

Have a friend who has a cottage on the water there and says it's been getting busier with other water craft lately.

[Reel Northern Bass]

FP is in my regular midweek rotation. I'm usually either cranking rock from 10'-20' or flipping wood or the steep banks up top (only a couple of docks pay off regularly). Bait can be a factor, if the flow is up (there are usually a couple of grassbeds near the inlet too, but not this year). That said, scratching out a limit can be a chore.

On the grass beds not being there this year, I'm finding the offshore vegetation nearly everywhere just didn't develop this year. I feel like the 1-2 punch of a prolonged cool late winter/early spring pattern with a ton of cloudy days that went right into hot weather with very little rain this entire time killed any chance of that stuff growing. Even a lot of somewhat shallow veggies everywhere still look like crap in so many places.

[Phrog Phil]

That’s a good point Sean, the vegetation we pulled up at FP was not very healthy. There was certainly some green clinging to rocks in some spots but a bunch of the deeper weeds looked browned.

[TMG]

That place is always busy. I've never fished it in the summer.
It's always the first or last stop of the year for me.
Like you guys. I've struggled there the last couple years.
My first trip in the bass boat this year was to Franklin Pierce. Spent most of the day getting skunked but caught a few just before dark.
The last few trips I said I wouldn't go back for a while.