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Lake Palestine Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

An East Texas sleeper: hybrid stripers, big cats and a bass lake without the crowds.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Lake level
343.71 ft -1.29 vs pool
Air / High
94 / 94 F
Wind
SSE 9 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 08031400, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Lake Palestine stays in its summer rhythm: early magic, midday siesta, evening reprieve. The gauge reads 343.71 ft, 1.29 ft below pool, up 0.24 over the week. Today brings a mixed sky, wind SSE around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 94. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassFair

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 94 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Lk Palestine nr Frankston, TX.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 08031400. Conservation pool is 345 ft.

343.65344.18344.71pool 345343.71 ft08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp94 F
High / Low94 / 75 F
WindSSE 9-11 mph
Pressure1012.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain25% cloud, 6%
Sunrise / Sunset06:59 / 19:42
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 94/75 F, wind 9 mph, rain 6%

Fair or better. A 9 mph breeze puts a working chop on the banks it hits: fish the wind-blown side.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Palestine: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Lake Palestine calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Palestine today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 89 F, wind to 11 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 93 F, wind to 19 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 100 F, wind to 12 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Texas requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Largemouth bass: 14-inch minimum, 5 per day. Hybrid striper: 18-inch minimum, 5 per day. Crappie: 10-inch minimum, 25 per day. Confirm with TPWD.

Access

Ramps at the 155 bridge, Coleman Park (Frankston) and several marinas mid-lake. The Villages area has courtesy docks and bank access.

About this water

25,560 acres on the Neches River, Smith/Cherokee/Henderson/Anderson counties. Upper Neches River Authority; completed 1962.

Fishing Lake Palestine: the full guide

The quiet one between the giants

Lake Palestine floods 25,500 acres of the Neches River valley west of Tyler, in the shadow of famous neighbors like Fork and Rayburn. That is exactly its charm: comparable East Texas fertility, a fraction of the pressure. The lake is long and riverine, stained in the upper end above the 155 bridge, clearer toward Blackburn Crossing Dam in the south.

What to chase

TPWD stocks hybrid stripers heavily, and they school on main-lake points and humps all summer: watch for gulls and breaking fish at dawn near the Villages and Ledbetter Point. Largemouth relate to boat docks, riprap and creek mouths: flipping docks mid-lake is the bread-and-butter pattern. Crappie hold on brush and the 155 bridge pilings, and the channel cat fishing on baited holes is as steady as anywhere in the region.

Working the seasons

Spring pushes bass and crappie into Kickapoo, Flat and Saline creeks; summer is hybrids at dawn and docks at midday; fall stacks everything on the creek mouths chasing shad; winter concentrates crappie on deep brush where a slow minnow gets bit all day.

Common questions

Is Lake Palestine better than Lake Fork?

Different mission. Fork is a managed trophy factory with crowds to match; Palestine is a balanced, lightly-pressured fishery where a mixed bag (hybrids, bass, crappie, cats) in one morning is realistic.

Where do the hybrid stripers school?

Main-lake points and humps between the 155 bridge and the dam, at first light in summer. Follow the birds: gulls working low over water means fish under them.

Is there bank fishing at Lake Palestine?

Yes: the 155 bridge area, Coleman Park in Frankston and several marina piers give real bank access, with crappie and catfish the reliable targets.

Is fishing good at Lake Palestine right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Lake Athens16 miLake Tyler21 miCedar Creek Lake39 miRichland-Chambers Reservoir40 miLake Fork43 miLake Tawakoni57 mi
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