TYLER, Texas — In this week's Hooked on East Texas, we introduce you to one of the area's fishing guides -- Mark Standridge, of Three Nails Guide Service.
Standridge started his guide service about six years ago after a job layoff, and now, on a sunny day on Lake Palestine, you might say he's living the dream.
"Crappie fishing over the last three years has really taken off in popularity" Standridge said. Last year I ran a total of 238 trips."
Mark recently took our Chief Engineer Greg Oden and I out for a day of crappie fishing on Lake Palestine. He knows exactly where to go and took us to the middle of Palestine, then set up shop over some submerged timber.
Standridge knows the crappie will float the channel waiting for their next meal to drift by. Some guides use the latest technology to target fish and increase the success rate of the fishing trip. We fished for almost two hours and ended up with roughly a dozen crappie.
The crappie were assorted weights and lengths; some were black crappie and some were white crappie, but no matter the species, they are very tasty.
Back on shore, Standridge will clean and gut your catch and send you home with fresh fish ready for the frying pan.