"Oh this is a good one." Shane says with his rod tip bent double, steering the fish away from the laydowns just to the right of him.
*****
Earlier that morning I met Shane at the boat dock as we started to prep for the first half of the day. While rigging, I saw him tie on a Twin Spin, from Fish Hog Tackle. It was over cast and a little windy, but we knew fish were in all three stages at this lake (Pre-spawn, Spawn, and a few Post spawners). "The Twin Spin is that top secret weapon you need to have in your arsenal and pray that your competition doesn’t." Shane tells me as he obviously noticed me looking at the set up. I pushed the issue a bit, trying to justify why I opted to start throwing soft plastics first.
"Admittedly when I first got my hands on the Twin Spin I had my reservations." He said, conceding that he understood my logic, but continued. "It is not like your normal spinnerbait at all. It's bigger. It’s bulkier and it moves differently through the water than your traditional spinnerbaits. So no, it’s not your “traditional” spinnerbait, but that is exactly what sets it apart and above the competition."
It's Spring and Shane takes us to a protected pocket on the lake and sets up an approach. Without a doubt I can tell he did his homework. It is just the type of place you expect the fish to be in this time of the year. Creek channel close, submerged timber next to grass flats with small clear pockets protected from the wind. Grabbing his Twin Spin set up, Shane makes his first cast, targeting the center of some flooded timber.
Continuing our conversation he tells me, "I was fishing a tournament on the Gasconade river in south Missouri. It was peaceful, calm, blue bird skies - tough fishing. I was picking up fish here and there, but the bite was hit and miss. All of a sudden conditions changed. Wind picked up a bit, which put a small ripple on the water. Then the clouds had moved in and gave some good overcast."
He was describing almost the exact conditions we were currently fishing. Making several more casts and targeting different pieces of structure he continued. "The setup changed perfectly for a spinnerbait bite. So I picked up a traditional spinnerbait and went to town. Only thing was it wasn’t working. That's when it hit me. Pressure. It was the fishing pressure that all these fish see day in and day out. It’s that normal spinnerbait that is thrown in front of them over and over again. So I immediately cut off what I was throwing and tied on a Twin Spin.
"First cast, no joke, it was the first cast." He said turning to look at me as he adjusted to make another cast. "I tossed it right on top of a laydown. I let it drop about a foot. Began to slowly reel it back to me. With all the flash and vibration, and the slight rolling action that bait made, it was about 4 feet from the laydown before it was hammered." He went on to tell how the pattern continued just like that the rest of the day.
Casting to another laydown Shane let the Twin Spin drop before retrieving it.
Thud
"Just like that!" Shane says setting the hook. "Oh this is a good one." Shane says with his rod tip bent double, steering the fish away from the laydowns just to the right of him. With some gentle coaxing he lands the impressive 5lb largemouth.
"Check this out." He says as he removes the bait from her mouth. Dangling the bait for me I can see that he opted for the solid white color with a speed worm cut for a trailer. "Early spring I like to dip the tail in some color to make it pop."
After a few pictures, he gently released the fish right back where he landed her. Shane says he prefers the Baitfish color, but adds that White, White and Chartreuse, and solid Chartreuse are productive for him also.
"I always have 2 or 3 of these things with me." He states as he sets up for another cast. "Fish don't ever see these. Its like a micro ball of bait. Nothing else out there does this."
Shane Coon is a Fish Hog prostaffer and continues to find places and conditions the Twin Spin out performs other baits.
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