redcrest 2021
LAKE PALESTINE LAYOUT
Lake Palestine was created in 1962 with the construction of Blackburn Crossing Dam on the Neches River . The lake covers 25,560 acres at full pool , stretching 18 miles from the mouth of the Neches east of the town of Chandler , to the Neches ’ outflow north of Highway 175 near the town of Cuney .
The reservoir runs almost perfectly north / south through parts of Anderson , Cherokee , Henderson , and Smith counties , and features 135 miles of shoreline that is dotted with docks , seawalls , and various other man-made cover .
Multiple creeks feed Palestine on its upper end above Highway 155 , including Kickapoo Creek , Indian Creek , Flat Creek and Caney Creek ; further down the lake , the Highsaw , Ledbetter , Cobb Creek and Saline Creek arms offer more fishable water on the lower end .
The lake is riddled with stereotypical east Texas standing timber on the upper end – “ It ’ s treacherous and there are no marked boat lanes ; these guys will have to do their homework ,” Jordon warns – but it has a diversity of cover and structure that will allow it to fish big for the 40-boat field that ’ ll compete the first two days . That diversity should suit a variety of strengths . “ People might show up to Palestine with the idea that fish will be caught with one technique or the other , but they ’ ll find that bass live from the dam to the furthest northern end of that lake ,” Sprague said . “ They ’ re going to find everything from offshore roadbeds to shallow , muddy water with vegetation . It has a lot of bridges , a lot of standing timber and rock . “ There ’ s a lot of bank grasses , creek channels , shallow humps … really just about everything you could ever ask for . The water by the dam is super clear , but you can run up to the northern end where it ’ s basically mud . I think it ’ s going to fit everybody ’ s style and really spread the field out . I don ’ t look for us to catch 30 bass a day , but we ’ ll catch plenty , and they ’ ll be quality fish .”
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BUILDING THE WINNING GAME PLAN
Evers pulled off the ultimate “ honey hole ” dream in the Championship Round of REDCREST 2019 out of La Crosse , Wisconsin . The Berkley pro doggedly maneuvered his way into an out-of-the-way backwater on Pool 7 on the Upper Mississippi River on the final day and decimated the rest of the field with 63 fish for 85 pounds , 6 ounces . Evers won by more than 44 pounds . That same potential for a remote creek extravaganza also exists at Palestine , but the ticking of the game clock and the pressure of SCORETRACKER ® pose the everyday risk / reward question of the REDCREST format , in which every fish over 2 pounds will be scorable .
“ How willing is a guy going to be to be running over stumps and breaking props , or idling somewhere for an hour , only to find that the water is blown out when he gets there ?” Connell asked . “ Without even looking at the upper end of the lake , I already know it ’ s a mine field . I know that these guys will go as far back into those creeks as a boat has ever been – that ’ s just what these guys do .
“ But what ’ s the risk versus reward of idling forever in practice to find some out-of-the-way spot versus finding places where you can move around better , and ‘ hodge-podge ’? If you want to go somewhere completely off the wall and you don ’ t find anything , you end up losing time and find yourself hoping : ‘ Well , man , I hope I can find something now .’ To me , that ’ s the worst scenario .”
MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | FEBRUARY-MARCH 2021