So I live on about a 4k acre lake. It's generally clear, with some days having a more stained/cloudy look limiting the vis to 2-3ft. As it sits now it is mostly 3-7ft deep, with few 9-10 ft pockets. As the summer rolls around it usually drops a foot or two.
I'd estimate that 40% of the lake either has eel grass, hydrilla, or some other sort of surface vegetation. Most of this comes up to surface, especially the eel grass. Other areas with no surface visible grass has some sort of thick bottom vegetation, which can be 1-3ft high, and really thick. You think you're looking at bottom, but I've pushed a stick through it for multiple feet. The bottom is actually very shelly/rocky.
Anything with open hooks like crank baits and jerk baits are almost impossible to use 90% of the time due to vegetation. "Weedless" setups still manage to catch fair share of grass too.
So I've been slowly trying to figure out some baits to use, and have had little luck. My go to bait is a ribbit frog. It can be used in all areas, and due to depth of lake, it often works in shallow areas with no surface vegetation. My other bait was a paddle tail swimbait with no weight. Just jerk it, let free fall, repeat. Those two baits have been the most productive by far. But, they don't always work, and can be frustrating when getting skunked, especially bc it's a very healthy lake, and I know there are bass around me.
I've tried spinner baits, chatter baits, swimbait on swimbait hook, flipping hydrilla mat, and jigs (to include swim jigs). I've caught very few on all those. When I have another with me I'll have them toss the ribbit and their bite number is almost always higher. Now I know there must be some better tactics than just the ribbit, maybe one of those baits I've mentioned, or something I'm not familiar with.
The banks are generally grassy, and can be 1-3ft deep. It's a very natural spring fed lake, so the bank kind of just fades into think brush, marsh, or woods. Lots and lots of panfish. Lots of food for them here. Rarely do I catch a skinny bass, no matter the length.
So I'm looking for advice for following situations so I can throw something other than the ribbit day in day out.
1. Thick eelgrass coming to surface. I've read about various baits, but everyone talks about swimming it above the grass, but this eelgrass it at the surface, so no area above the grass to swim it.
2. Hydrilla mat flats, either at or just under the surface. I figure flipping is about the only way to hit the thick surface mat, but what about the sub surface, and areas between the mats?
3. Areas without much surface vegetation, but visible vegetation sitting 1-3ft off the bottom. This leaves about 4ft of clear water, but I usually shy away from fishing just random open spots since I can't think of a where the fish would be in it, or how to target them.
Thanks in advance for any ideas or tips. My whole life has been mostly visiting a lake for a day and targeting banks in a Jon boat. So I'm a little lost when having all the time to really pick apart a lake properly.
