Page 42 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine March 2023

Lake Palestine

Lay Of The Land

Lake Palestine is the largest lake in the Tyler area.
Due to its consistent success, it is a very popular
largemouth bass fishery. Most vegetation and
inundated timber are located above Texas Highway
155 bridge in the main lake, Highsaw and Ledbetter
arms,in Kickapoo and Neches River arms and in Flat
Creek. It is important that all boaters are aware of
the stumpy areas of the lake and take the necessary
precautions especially if the water levels drop below
normal pool.

Texas Parks and Wildlife regularly restocks Lake Palestine.
In 2021the stocking included nearly 11,000 ShareLunker
Largemouth fry and over 350,000 Florida largemouth
fingerlings. 2022 saw an additional stocking of over 800,000
fingerlings. With this work in place, it is no wonder so many
anglers flock to Lake Palestine.

There are approximately 17 boat ramps around the lake.
Seven of which are free public ramps, The remaining 10 are
privately owned and charge small ramp fees for usage.
Most of the private ramps do have courtesy docks and
ample parking for 15 boats or more. Some of the boat
ramps are not paved or can only be used by
small boats.

Lake Palestine has a surface area of 25,560
acres (40 square miles) and a maximum depth
of 50 feet, and an average depth of 16 feet.

The lake is 18 miles long, stretching basically
north to south, from Chandler to near Frankston,
with 135 miles of shoreline. The widest part of the
lake is 4 miles across.

The crest of the spillway is 345 feet above
mean sea level, and the conservation storage
capacity is 411,290 acre-feet with a surface
area of 25,560 acres.

The drainage area above the dam is
about 839 square miles. The maximum
typical fluctuation is 2.2 feet. When the
lake drops below normal pool areas that were
once safe to navigate may have hazards just
below the surface.
42 Lady Bass Anglers Association
Lake Palestine- Lay of The Land