late summer woes

I have been fishing all summer and it seems to have peaked.  I fish in Northern NJ and it has been quite an active summer.  Three weeks ago it was peaking.  Me and 3 friends went out on a small pond and caught close to 30 fish in a two hour period.  Granted i know this is not common, but the last two time ive gone out i have been goosegged.  Im assuming this is becaus ethe fish have gone to deeper cooler waters cause of the unusually hot summer.

My question is if the fish are deep is top water going to be effective?  Do you think it is more effective to fish somethin weighted or even a spinner bait maybe to provoke a strike?  Any feedback would be most appreciated.

And the lakes i fish are fairly small.. maybe with a maximum depth of 25 feet.  Thanks