Live Well Not Big Enough




East Texas has become famous for its winter trophy blue catfish fishing, with Lake Palestine ranking number two behind Lake Tawakoni. Robert Holloway recently caught a 48.2 pound lake rod and reel record from Lake Palestine.

Fishing four poles Holloway was about to call it a day when the fish took the bait. He reported the fish went down, but it didn’t stay down like normal. The big Blue swam to the left 80 yards out and then did a 180-degree turn to the other side of the boat and got in the anchor line. Fishing alone it took him several minutes to land the big fish, realizing that neither his net nor his live well were big enough for a fish that was 45.5 inches long and 31.75 inches in girth. His previous big blue catfish was a 32-pounder.

March, April and May are all good catfish catching months, but March and April have been his best months. He attributes it the warming water temperature, switching to drift fishing.

When he caught his record fish he was sitting in 7 feet of water and fishing only 3- to 4-feet deep. Holloway only uses 25-pound monofilament line in case he is drifting and needs to break off. He does use a 50-pound leader the last two feet to a No. 7 circle hook, a style he uses because of the hook-up success over the years.

Photo courtesy Robert Holloway

 




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Lake Palestine Current Weather Alerts

There are no active watches, warnings or advisories.

 

Lake Palestine Weather Forecast

Sunday

Mostly Sunny

Hi: 93

Sunday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 75

Monday

Slight Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 93

Monday Night

Partly Cloudy

Lo: 75

Tuesday

Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 93

Tuesday Night

Slight Chance Thunderstorms

Lo: 75

Wednesday

Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 95

Wednesday Night

Partly Cloudy

Lo: 75


Lake Palestine Water Level (last 30 days)


Water Level on 7/6: 345.04 (+0.04)



Lake Palestine

Fishing Report from TPWD (Jul. 2)

GOOD. Water stained; 90 degrees; 0.23 feet above pool. Crappie are good on brush in 14 feet of water with minnows, or in timber in 18-25 feet of water with jigs. Channel catfish and small blue catfish are good near reading walls with stink bait or cut bait. Bass are good in 4-7 feet of water with senkos. White bass are good around sunrise in the morning on main lake points with small rattletraps or shallow diving crankbaits. Anticipate increased boater traffic this weekend as we celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day.

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