Posted By: QuirkyCarp2000
Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 03/20/22 08:18 PM
What forage do stripers and hybirds feed on at Lake Palestine and the Neches River? I know there is shad in the lake, is it in the river, too? Based on the forage, I am trying to match their natural prey when buying lures. What color and pattern of lures should I focus on as an beginner?
Posted By: z289sec
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 03/20/22 08:52 PM
What forage do stripers and hybirds feed on at Lake Palestine and the Neches River? I know there is shad in the lake, is it in the river, too? Based on the forage, I am trying to match their natural prey when buying lures. What color and pattern of lures should I focus on as an beginner?
If it's in the lake, and they release into the river, they will be there too.
Posted By: SkeeterRonnie
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 03/20/22 08:57 PM
threadfin and gizzard shad. also bluegills in that area.
Posted By: QuirkyCarp2000
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 03/21/22 04:17 PM
So fish cam travel between the main lake and the Neches River?
Posted By: Notaguide
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 03/22/22 10:26 PM
You do realize how lakes are created right?
Posted By: SFA81
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 03/24/22 09:24 PM
Yes, fish can travel back and forth from the Neches of Kickapoo to the main lake
Posted By: Drycreek3189
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 03/25/22 12:12 AM
So fish cam travel between the main lake and the Neches River?
Sure, upstream they can travel both ways. Downstream, it’s a one way street.
There are Shad, ghost minnows, red shiners, bluegill, crawfish, and a variety of other food sources in nearly every single lake and River in texas. Fish are not that picky, sandbass, striper, and yellow bass will eat about anything that swims if they can swallow it. Black Bass, catfish, and crappie are even more opportunistic, black bass will eat snakes, frogs, mice, birds, bugs, you name it, crappie and catfish are oftentimes caught eating grasshoppers when they’re plentiful, mayflies when they hatch, Shad when they Shad are schooled up, and we all know they will eat minnows. My recommendation is watch some videos on how to throw a castnet, get a 1/4” mesh cast net and toss it in shallow water and use what you catch (if legal of course). This is a great way for a beginner to learn and you can see what’s in the water. Guarantee you whatever you catch will work better than some store bought minnows, and it might help your chances over lures if you’re just starting out.
Posted By: QuirkyCarp2000
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 03/25/22 03:53 PM
Do I need a special license to use a cast net?
Posted By: Mo
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 04/04/22 06:20 PM
There are no stripers in the Neches/ Lake Palestine area, It has been several years since hybrids have been stocked , so it is a declining fishery.
I have personally ask the area biologist to stock stripers in Lake Palestine , he does not think they would survive.
I would think shad would make up the vast majority of the diet of Hybrids.
Good luck
Mo
I was at the neches river a couple of weeks ago. I caught a undersized hybrid some people refer to them as strippers (they are not). LakePalestine does have hybrids in it and yes they travel up stream just like the sand bass.
Posted By: ATM97
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 04/05/22 03:06 AM
We got a double stocking of hybrids last year and ran in to a school of them feasting on 2-3” shad at the mouth of saline creek this afternoon. We had 50+ in a little over an hour with a few white bass mixed in. Most were 10-14” so in another couple years they should be ready to put up a better fight. It didn’t matter what you put in front of them, they were eating it.
Posted By: Mo
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 04/05/22 05:05 PM
We got a double stocking of hybrids last year and ran in to a school of them feasting on 2-3” shad at the mouth of saline creek this afternoon. We had 50+ in a little over an hour with a few white bass mixed in. Most were 10-14” so in another couple years they should be ready to put up a better fight. It didn’t matter what you put in front of them, they were eating it.
that is good to hear , I was not aware that we got stocked,
Mo
Posted By: sandbasscamp
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 04/06/22 09:22 PM
Their already following Martin around. In the creek I pray they make it back out. They are the size that will be kept, by most of those guys. Hard to distinguish. Till you touch one. Then there's a difference.
Posted By: sandbasscamp
Re: Forage at Palestine and Neches River - 04/06/22 10:30 PM
By the way, hey Mo .
To the op, shad , gizzard and thread fin, fresh water shrimp, blue gill, some kin if minnow, fathead is what I call them. I'm sure there's plenty more. Palestine is a fertile lake.