Lake Palestine is just above full pool, clear and 87 degrees. During July, fishing can be just down right great if you can stand our Texas heat. You can catch every kind fish that you like to fish for. My favorite will always be the large mouth bass and here are a few things I will do to find and then catch them.
First, I will get a good map of the lake and figure out where I feel are the most productive spots to catch large bass and also numbers of bass. I like fishing both the shallow water and deep water. I will rig up several rods with different lures to fish deep and shallow. First I will rig up a deep diving crank bait in a shad color then I will rig up a Carolina rig with a watermelon colored fry and a Texas rig with a watermelon colored worm. Next I will rig up a lure I build called a Shimmy Shakerspinner and last but not least a lure that I call my count down lure. Now I know that most of you know what the crank baits, plastic worms are but you may have seen my Shimmy Shaker lures and I know you have not seen or heard about the count down lure. The count down lure is nothing more than a salt water jig head with soft plastic bait on it. The way I fish the count down lure is I just cast it out and let it sink down to a depth where I see fish on my fish finder. I find the fish with my graph and cast the lure out and count it down to the fish. I will look for my fish on the deep points, deep creek channels, creek bends and old road ways. I will spend at least one hour on each spot with the different lures until I feel I can’t catch any fish from this spot. I will have several of these deep water spots to try and when I find fish I will check the time of day and remember the spot because I can come back to this spot 15 minutes later each day and find fish feeding in the same spot. Another thing to remember is always pull your lures up the ridges in the summer and down in the winter. Bass will be more active during the warm months and will chase a lure out away from where he is hideing and by pulling up a point you can keep them in close. If you pull your lure down a point they will chase it out away from his hideing place into the deeper water and it will take them longer to regroup back up on his hideing spot.
Now for the shallow water you can find the bass good early on top waters and with my Shimmy Shaker lures. Earlier I spoke of the Shimmy Shaker but didn’t tell you where and how to fish it. The Shimmy Shaker is a lure that can be fished down deep like a jig or pulled faster like a spinner bait and rigged with a frog as it’s trailer it can be worked on the surface like a buzz bait. My Shimmy Shaker is a lure that I will always have tied on because I can work it so many ways to catch my fish. I make and sell the Shimmy Shaker and it can be seen on my web site Texas Spinner Bait company or at my guide service, rickysguideservice website. I like to fish the Shimmy Shaker around brush, grass,rocky areas and boat docks. If you would like to purchase some for yourself then email me or call me at (903)561-7299 and I will be glad to build you the color of your choice.
Crappie can be found on brush piles in about 17 to 20 feet of water. Jigs fished slowly over the top of the brush will produce some mighty fine crappie for you.
Sand bass and hybrids will be very good shallow early and late and will stack up in the deep water after the sun gets up high. You can catch them on top waters and rat-l-traps early and spoons on into the day.
Catfish are doing very good on Lake Palestine and you will find that it is stacked full of channel cat. That’s right you can find cat fish just about any place on the lake where you find a sandy bottom. Night crawlers and punch baits will work best.
Now if you want cat fish to put in the freezer and don’t have a boat and need a guide well I also fish for cat fish as well.
Before I close I want to remind you if you’re going to tackle the heat then be sure to take a good sun lotion and plenty of water to drink and always when your on the water think safety and ware your life vest for the life you save may just be yours.
Another lake I guide on is Lake Fork and at this time you can find bass doing the same thing on Fork as Palestine. Small spinner baits and top waters will work in the shallows and big crank baits and count down lures will work on the deep ridges.
If you’re coming to Lake Palestine or Lake Fork and need a guide then email me at [email protected] or call me at (903)561-7299 HOME OR MY CELL (903)530-2201
Until next month remember to keep only the fish you can use and release the rest so our kids can enjoy the wonderful sport that we do today for our kids are our future of tomorrow.
Good Luck and Good Fishing
By: Ricky Vandergriff
