fish that an angler finds himself culling four and five pounders. For a closer look at the lake and to get an insider’s view on the fishing during this season, Western Bass checked in with a couple of the resident locals to find out how they approach the fish in the late fall to and early winter.
BILL O’SHINN
Clear lake resident Bill o’Shinn also weighed in on the lake’s fishing this year, prior to the kick off of the onslaught of october/ november tournaments. He stated the most important factor this time of year was the baitfish and a key bait would be the lipless crankbait. He tipped off anglers that a quieter, lighter lure such as the lV 200 as opposed to the lV 300 would be a good bait early in the change of the season for a more subtle,
Issue 5
October 2012
quiet approach. He also recommended the river2Sea Whopper Plopper as another subtle bait in contrast to the Spook or buzzbait. “You can work it super-slow,” said o’Shinn. He also likes multi-rig arm lures as the winter chimes in. o ‘Shinn expressed that the umbrella rig would continue to be a game changer in the tournament scene, this year as it was last year - during this season. “i do think that it will work here again, maybe another year or two,” said o’Shinn. “But, truthfully last year, i found success here by not using it; because there were so many guys fishing it. i stuck to my usual stuff and it seemed to do alright.” He noted that the overall umbrella rig fishing, remained more traditional on the lake with plastic swimbaits rather than the spinnerbait, Carolina rigs, chatterbaits or other options that
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