Darrell Rodgers

Lakeland, FL, United States

40 years old, started tournament fishing 2 years ago. Florida guy

04 Dec 09:17

Ray, I’m happy and jealous of you all at the same time. My classic will be there so feel free to post all the secrets lol. Good luck.

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28 Nov 08:51

If you ever make it to Florida I’m down for it! Great idea

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I did/am

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Yea I seen that seminar. Kinda what I’m doing here today. I appreciate the help

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24 Nov 10:14

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!

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17 Nov 07:53

Appreciate it everyone!! Definitely felt good to get a win, and it’s reassuring that the changes that I’m making are working.

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16 Nov 15:12

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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.

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14 Nov 13:08

This was super helpful coming from fl

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12 Nov 06:47

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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.

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