Robert Sparks of Heflin, LA won the Bass Pro Shops Open Series East Texas tournament, held February 1st on Lake Palestine, TX. Running out of lake Palestine Resort, Robert caught five-bass weighing 17.90 lbs. Still raining for almost the entire week, the lake level was low and, on the rise, but the weather was warm again. The same as the week before on Sam Rayburn, the skies broke, and the sun came out just in time for the anglers to get on the water and enjoy some good sunshine and 60-degree weather.

“This was my first-time fishing Lake Palestine. I came over here just to learn some new water and just go fishing. I never expected this. I had one area I stayed in all day. I love to flip docks so I picked an area and went after it. The morning started off great but around 10:00 AM my trolling batteries got weak and I could barely move. I had a limit so I went to an offshore area and started drifting. That’s where I culled my last keeper and decided to come in early. I started to head home and you sent me a text to turn around and come back telling me I had won. This is great.” Said Robert.

In second for the boaters, Trent Menees of North lake, TX weighed a 5 fish limit for 15.67bs. “I was fishing docks and some offshore structure today. The bites have been slow this week but the fish that are biting have been good sized. I stayed with that one area all day an caught my limit with less than 10 bites. The fishing is slow right now and will get better, but the bites were quality.” Said Trent.

Matthew Helsley of Duncanville, TX took third place honors right on the heels of Trent with a 5 fish limit at 15.60 lbs. “Practice was bad. I only had 3 keepers in 2 days of fishing, but they were big too. Just like Trent said. The ones we caught were quality. I slowed way down and threw a weightless fluke on secondary points up North in a well-known area. They were full pre spawn fish. I think the lower water level threw a lot of guys off that generally target these shallow areas during the spawn. I didn’t fish water any deeper than 3 feet all day and was right there. I just needed a good kicker.” Stated Matthew.

Finishing fourth, Randy Brewer of South Lake, TX landed a five-bass limit for 15.21-lbs. Billy Cline of Bartonville, TX rounded out the top five boaters with a limit for 15.13-lbs. The monster bass of the tournament for the boaters was a beauty at 10.99 lbs, caught by Landon Markum.

Photo courtesy ABA