LAKEPORT, Calif. — Finding a different way to fish a pressured area, Christian Ostrander of Turlock, Calif. topped the field at the Wild West Bass Trail on Clear Lake presented by Bridgford Foods with a total weight of 64.54 pounds.
After weighing 16.44 on Day 1, Ostrander added 20.96 on Day 2. In the final round, he stepped on the gas and turned in the event’s heaviest bag — 27.14 — and took home the $15,500 first-place prize.
Anchoring his limit with a 7.67-pound kicker, Ostrander committed his day to Konocti Bay, where he focused on deep rock next to spawning areas. Targeting postspawn fish, he did most of his damage on one rocky point.
“It was a big bend with some big rocks, super deep and somewhere that had a lot of fish,” Ostrander said. “In practice, a lot of people knew about this spot. The difference was how I approached it; how I fished it. Everyone was going in there and throwing a jig, but I was throwing a crankbait.”
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