Okay, so here's a question for you to chime in on.....

 

Scenario: shallow water (4-8' mostly) lake with several coves and creek arms

Cover: various laydowns, some pads and small dock here or there

Weather: approaching low with prolonged periods of rain during a full moon cycle

Fishing window: tournament day is dawn through mid-afternoon

 

What would you do?

I'd be covering water with a bladed jig, maybe a spook or buzzbait, and flipping a jig or t rig at good looking cover. 

Yeah - I have a texas rig, jig-n-craw ready to roll.  Not a huge fan of buzzbaits, but I do use a PTL Gator or Swinging Hammer rigged weightless and use them as a buzzbait instead.  I also have a bladed jig at the ready as well.

I'd be living with a rage craw and a moving bait like a swimbait or crankbait, slowing down with the first and covering water with the second. If I had multiple rods, I'd also have a senko, dropshot, and topwaters (frog) at the ready. 

id have a swim jig on for swimming around cover or a flipping jig to probe the cover and id probably have a creature bait on as well

I'd fish until I found out where they were and how they wanted to be fed.

Tournaments are won by fishing the right location where the bass are, not on a special lure. If you don't know where to start and hope to discover bass by covering water with your favorite lure type, you are in trouble.

My approach is always the same, determine how deep the bait and bass are and fish locations with active bass using a lure that is appropriate for whatever structure or cover and depth that may be.

Fall the bass are moving so I would tend to target points and wherever there is a sharp break line to deeper water. Docks, lay downs maybe a distraction unless they are located on or very near a break. The dam area is always a good area for larger size bass.

Tom

I would go topwater early morning over remaining weeds/laydowns and then rely on electronics to locate baitfish and throw shad patterns to hopefully semi-schooling fish.

Overcast, cloudy with rain.

Joesfly 1/4oz bass size in firetiger apache.

Low light white colors, chartruese colors, firetiger colors can be your best freind. In bomber cranks they offer firecraw color too if you have the room for crankbaits.

Kill them with brighter colors.

With the full blood moon coming soon on Sunday with the weather front you should see a feeding frenzy.

I would fish a chatterbait or jig. My partner and I fished a similar lake a few weeks ago for a tournament, and we placed 3rd. If the water is calm, fish a walking bait.