Question on contradicting conditions for my tournament this Sunday.

1-We here in Florida just went through a cold snap (water temp is 67% as of yesterday) the bite has slowed.

2-Alternatively the water is very muddy (maybe 6inc visiblity)

3-The day of the tournament it will be completely overcast.

So 1 and 2 I understand Make the bass a bit more lethargic and closer to cover, but 3 makes them more active and roaming.

So what the heck can I expect?

Thanks a lot

🤯 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!

Ended up coming in first out of 18 boats with 19.56 pounds and a 6 pound pounder for the kicker. Just wanna thank everybody for the round tables and the help these past couple weeks getting prepared for this tournament.

Found a few yesterday when we had the cold snap, it was nice going in to the day having confidence in them biting if I could get around some bait. (Newly learned here). Putting together a game plan for this Sunday’s tournament. Thanks for all the help.

the last fish was almost a proud owner of a new nitro when I got him in the boat and seen all them damn teeth.

Caught a lot of fish today, here’s a few with a notable 6lbr. On a buzz bait again.

So I’m putting myself through the “fall bass learning boot camp”. Basically I take an hour in the morning and dedicate it to learning all I can about the current season. Typically through a b-lat video

This might sound super simplistic but I’ve reached a aha moment using google AI.

I’m pretty good at following directions, but when something is or isn’t working I don’t really understand why Rather it’s bait selection, location, conditions etc.

With AI if I want a deeper understanding I can just ask it and it gives really detailed answers. (From this I’ve basically written reports on the things I’ve learned to better retain them)

Literally ordering baits with a pictures of “Florida threading Shad, and bluegills” pulled up on one monitor and picking the color and profile that best matches it.

I just think it will give more confidence in the decision we make on the water if we understood in detail why. Like why Shad go shallow in the fall, or why bass feel the need to eat up and the rabbit hole is endless.

If this is everyone’s common way to study then just remember I’m new and mind ya business 😁. But if you haven’t tried it I recommend it.

Reminder to myself to slow down and enjoy God’s gifts.

A couple 4s in practice today!! Buzz bait, and shaking a minnow for the bigger bites.