High school fishing: Home advantage

BULLARD — All of the Pine Empire high school fishing teams will enjoy a sort of home-lake advantage today.

That"s because the Texas High School Bass Association East Division tournament takes place along Lake Palestine.

“I like that it"s a lake that"s close to home,” said Elkhart High fishing team coordinator Tammy Ham, who helped begin the squad last year with her son, sophomore Justin Ham. “It"s a lake we are familiar with.”

Frankston fishing team coordinator Ryan McCoy, who also serves as the boat captain for the Indians" team of Tyler Fridinger and Clayton Merritt, echoed Ham"s sentiments.

“We don"t have to travel, and the kids get to sleep in their own beds,” McCoy said. “It"s a favorite lake of ours. We know a lot about it.”

Bullard High School (1426 South Houston Street) is serving as the tournament host.

The first cast is set for 7 a.m., a little later than usual because of the late-October sunrise. The weigh-in will begin at 3 p.m.

This is a trailering event, which means teams may launch from the boat ramp of their choice. The bag limit is five fish. The minimum length limit is 14 inches for largemouth, spotted and Guadalupe bass.

Thanks to the copious amounts of rain the Piney Woods has received during the past two weeks, Lake Palestine went from 2½-feet under capacity to completely full.

Palestine boat captain Joey Mason, who unfortunately won"t serve in that role today, said there are many reasons why Lake Palestine is so attractive.

“It"s a good lake, it"s one of the top lakes not only in Texas but in the whole south,” Mason said. “You can catch fish all over the lake, using a variety of styles.”

Lake Palestine also will serve as the site for the East and Northeast Division regional tournament on April 13, 2019.

As for the current lake condition, McCoy said there are both positives and negatives.

“It"s made navigation on the lake easier,” he said. “But, it"s going to be tougher to locate fish because they are spread out more.”

It"s going to come down to where the shad is located, and how hungry the bass are today.

The top area team at the Lake O" The Pines meet in September was Westwood"s Jon Graham and Travis Blevins, who caught the limit of five fish (12.82 pounds).

Frankston"s top team was Jacob Bizzell and Jason Stanaland (33rd place, five fish, 8.55 pounds). Elkhart"s Kolby McClellan-Cade Starr, Jarrett Henry-Mason Mitchell of Palestine and Trisdon Bynum-Bastion Pickens of Oakwood also fished well.

Lake Palestine"s water temperature has dropped to 64-68 degrees.

Black bass are fair of rigged craws, topwater baits and bladed jigs. White bass are good on slabs, according to the latest Texas Parks and Wildlife Department fishing report.

Weather conditions will be absolutely ideal, with sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 70s — creating a glistening backdrop for fishing.

Roughly 140 teams are set to compete.

FISHING

TODAY"S TEAMS

(By School)

Elkhart: Justin Ham-Carter Allen; Cooper Jordan-Blake Brumley; Corban Whitfield (solo); Casen “Tate” McKinney-Conner Walker; Kaden Hallmark-Dylan Arnold; Kolby McClellan-Cade Starr; and Kaden Callaway (solo).

Frankston: Jacob Bizzell-Jason Stanaland; Boogie Krajca-Ryan Fitzgerald; Ethan Dowling-Jett Riley; Tyler Fridinger-Clayton Merritt; Jesse Owen-Hunter Holland; Trenton Taylor-Coy Elton; John Mark King-Bayne Bacon, Mason Boggs and Carson Wheeler.

Oakwood: Garret Bean-Dylan Rogers; Trisdon Bynum-Bastion Pickens; Charles Malina-Kaleb Hayslip.

Palestine: Sam Braly-Luke James; Jarrett Henry-Mason Mitchell; Corbin Hughes-Andrew Camp; McCain Collett (solo); Samuel Skloss-Aidan Seat.

Westwood: Jon Graham-Travis Blevins; Nolan Kelly (solo).

Source: https://www.palestineherald.com/sports/high-school-fishing-home-advantage/article_02fbcbe6-d9ae-11e8-98f1-5fc16add4d63.html