🤯 Well, now what?! Practice definitely threw me a curveball! I found some great spots in open water, but then got lazy and tied on a black swim jig with braid (even though I thought it needed to be fluorocarbon). Surprisingly, I landed a 5-pounder and a 6-pounder! They completely ignored anything that looked like a shad or shiner. Feeling really blessed to have a successful practice and a solid area scoped out for the tournament!

Good morning all,

I’ve done some research on Bass forage in Florida and it seems that golden shinner is the preferred option. So I dove in to that and it looks like they can see the golden hue. So my question is when would I choose a color/ bait that wouldn’t reflect a shiner? I know fl is a June bug/black and blue traditional color options. I guess I want to know why if shiners are the number one forage option why throw something different?

Thanks in advance

Lake Arbuckle Tournament Prep: Need Help Breaking the Code!

Hello everyone,

I've put in two full 10-hour practice days on Lake Arbuckle ahead of the December 21st tournament, with a few more practice sessions scheduled.

Conditions: Both days have been tough: bluebird skies, minimal wind, and water temperatures in the mid-70s.

Lake Breakdown: This is a classic, extremely shallow, natural Florida lake. Key features include two main creek inflows, vast areas of lily pads and cattails, but no brush, no significant contours, and only a few main points.

The Problem: My two days yielded only three fish totaling under 6 pounds, all caught late on the second day using a buzz toad. I cycled through all the classics (Senkos, Chatterbaits, Wacky rigs, Ned rigs) without success. These fish seem highly pressured or extremely wary. I had a similar, frustrating tournament here last year.

I'm hitting a wall and have seemingly tried everything. Does anyone have videos, references, or general advice for tackling extremely tough/high-pressured lakes when your standard approaches fail?

All feedback is appreciated!