Hey guys

The lakes I fish have little to no grass growing on or in them. However they have plenty of docks, rip rap, some bluff walls, and tons of flooded tree lay down and brush. I can usually catch a few fish every trip but I'd like to know what baits and which cover you would target to catch more fish and do it consistently.

I'm generally into jigs and ribbon tail worms but have a decent selection of hard baits and such. Also in fishing in the foothills of North Carolina on the catawba river chain of lakes if that helps out

Try using squarebill crankbaits around all the cover. They work best when you can deflect them off cover or bounce them off cover on the bottom. You may lose one once In a while if you don't have a good retrieval tool but its worth it!

I fish the same type of lakes and rip rap is prime for square bills, what I do is I work my baits by paralleling the rip rap, make a long cast and bring in back 2' from the bank, you'll be banging rocks along the way and then keep working further out and once you find what depth there at you can usually move along and catch more in that same depth. Jigs pitched to the deadfalls and lay downs are a must, I will often use 1/8oz and 3/16oz finesse jigs in the shallower areas and use heavier models to work the ones that extend out to deeper water. You also need to incorporate a stick worm like a senko as well. Another great bait is the spinnerbait, if you get wind or an overcast day, the spinnerbait around brush and docks can be incredible, the same thing with bladed jigs and swim jigs, if the lakes see a lot of pressure I usually go to a swim jig first, they are more subtle, good luck.

Thanks guys. Square bills look like a great option. Any color suggestions besides the basic match the hatch?

I don't know what water clarity your fishing but chartreuse/ black back is always a pretty good choice

I'd throw either the square bill in the structure or a jig.  It will depend on fish activity on which one I throw. 

Do you have any wetlands with the tall grass at the open waters edge? I cast parallel in front of it making the bass come out of it for an easy meal.

Any shaded areas? Fish there.

5 Basic colors 

 

Crawfish

 

Bluegill

 

Rootbeer Chartreuse or Black Chartreuse

 

Firetiger

 

Shad

I would tend to favor a shaky head or drop shot in that type of lake over a T-rig plastic when fishing softbaits .