CarolinaAngler

I'm new to Hickory and the main fishing location is Lake Hickory. I'm used to fishing smaller private ponds and I do just fine on ponds but I have no idea how to fish a lake. I don't have access to a boat usually so I just have the bank and a pier to fish from. My question is simply how do I fish a lake, and if anybody fishes in Hickory, what are the best places? I use a bait caster and I have just about every type of lure. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. I think I'll start with a 1.5 sexy shad and then switch to a black and blue swim jig.

I'm going night fishing in a private pond with moderate to heavy weed coverage, and I was wondering what crankbaits work the best. Also, the pond is moderately clear with some brown taint. I'm looking for details like color, bill, and depth (the pond ranges from a few feet to 12+). I'm assuming that crankbaits are still a realistic lure to use at night, but if not what hard lures (if any) work at night?