Reservation Number : 35057
Property Name : Bennett Lake
Reservation Date : 02/20/2023 All Day -
Total Fish/Sizes : 85 bass landed along with 2 crappie
Lures Used : Described below

Spent President’s Day fishing at Bennett Lake near Grapeland with my friend Chase from Palestine. Bass Forecast had given us a preview of the exciting day that was in store for us as it rated Monday, 2/20 as an 8.4 and “epic.” A tip of the hat to Bass Forecast for the heads up and for Bennett Lake being well the great Bennett Lake.  I try and fish Bennett Lake at least once a year as I think it is an East Texas gem of a lake and I am so glad it is in the PWF club.

Chase and I fished all day with the exception of about 20 minutes when we went to shore to eat a brief lunch. We caught the majority of our fish generally within 5 to 15 yards of the shoreline throughout most parts of the lake. We didn’t have much success on the far upper end of the lake that is away from the dam. We were fortunate to catch bass on a variety of lures during the day but the best performer was a Jackhammer chatterbait. Chase also did well on the Hybrid Hunter Jr from Strike King as it performed well ticking the shallow grass. I also had success fishing a shallow 1 to 2 foot diving crankbait right over the top of the grass in generally 2 to 4 feet of water. Chase also caught them in the afternoon on a Texas rig senko and a Ned rig.

Our best fish of the day went 3 pounds (we caught a handful in the 3 pound range) but we never found any of the prespawn females and we didn’t see any bass bedding yet.  Chase did catch 2 bass down near the dam in 20 feet of water on a Berkley Dredger and a Tactical DD crankbait but that was the only success we had in the deeper depths of the lake.  As great as the fishing was for us, we just never could locate any of the bigger fish although I know they are here because I have caught some previously.

We culled 45 bass and 2 crappie on the day so I envision quite a future fish fry at Chase’s house at some point in the future.  We decided to call it quits about an hour before dark so we could get on our way. All in all, one heck of a day on the water and we were blessed to land 87 fish with 2 of those being crappie.

Until next time…………...