ok my local lake is pretty shallow and has clear water with lots of weeds on the bottom and the water is pretty cold right now so i was wondering if u guys would suggest me using a crank bait and if u do what brand do u recomend me using i am asking because the fish in my local lake are pretty shy and arent really biting right now and i read up that jigs are productive in these type of situations and ive tried them but i cant seem to get any thing so i was wondering if crankbaits will work so can u guys help me out thanks guys.

I would try a weightless fluke t-rigged on some light 6-10 pound flurocarbon.

You can use a crankbait, you need to figure out how deep the tops of the weeds are, and get a crankbait that will run deep enough to tick the tops of the weeds. I would use the same 6-10 pound flurocarbon for crankbaits.

Rattlebaits and Cold water make an odd combination, but it works. You may or may not have to "tick" the weeds.  I'd recommend using a variety of weights, brands, and colors until you find what works.  I am a big Cordell Spot Fan, but use Rattle Traps, Rattle Raps, Strike King, and others.

Another great for that situation is a suspending jerkbait just over the weed tops. Vary the pause until the fish tell you how long they want it sitting still.  Husky Jerks, Rogue's, Lucky Crafts, etc.

I would try a Strike King diamond shad, reeling a spinnerbait slowly over the grass, or maybe a senko in the grass.

On the craknkbait side, try and find a square billed bait that only dives 2-5'...depending on how bad the grass actually is.

I personally would be throwing plastics. Worms work year round, and you can fish a worm in every type of cover known.

As far as cranks go, you have a couple of options.  You can stay on top with either a shallow diving bait or a floating Ratt-l-Trap (those keep you out of the weeds pretty good); however, there are a few places that I fish that are similar to what you are describing (without the cold part: shallow with vegitation) and I usually had more luck zipping a small (normally Rapala) lipless crank through the weeds.  Yeah, I get snagged alot, but I guess the disturbance of the bait ripping through the weeds triggers strikes because we would catch the hell out of em like that (sometimes up to 20+ a day: catch n release).

Hope it works out for ya

I think the problem you're dealing with is cold water, which is favored by a slow delivery,

combined with clear water, which is favored by a faster delivery (less recognition).

The type of lure you choose is probably less important than the rest of your presentation.

In the situation you described, I'd lean to small, subtle colored lures, and I'd side with the cold water

by using a slow delivery.

The lure you feel most comfortable with is usually the best the lure to use.

If it were me I'd probably twitch a floating Rapala in the shallowest water over the weeds,

in deeper water I'd use a suspending jerk plug like the LC Pointer and in the deepest water

I'd go with a small, finesse lure, for instance a 4" worm on a 1/8 oz jighead.

But as always, there are many ways to go. Hope that helps.

Roger

Fat Ika, weightless and weedless. If there are any bass in your lake, you will catch a few.

Use a Silver Buddy...

http://www.silverbuddy.com/