T-rig big creature bait is my go-to for pads, but unlike most I go light(1/4 oz) and instead of trying to punch, I cast past were I want to fish then drag the bait into a gap till it falls, then "hang" my line on a pad and work it, rinse repeat. Theyll also hit when you drag it across the top, they usually miss but in that case you just let the bait fall and they almost always hammer it again. A jig with a big trailer works good for this too, but were I fish a t-rig catches less of the pad adjacent vegetation.
I typically use a big creature bait that has alot of visual and water displacement impact, if you get their attention they will typically eat it. Were I fish pads, the bottom usually isnt good, the fish seem to feed up or lateral, so with punching heavy weight T-rigs I feel like you have to pinpoint crash it down really close to the fish to get the reaction strike or nothing, were as with the method above you can draw them in keeping the bait in the strike zone or when dragging across the top.
My absolute favorite lure for this is the Nories Big escape twin, but they are hard to find and pricey in the states, honestly any plastic with a large profile will get the job done. Almost every year my biggest, healthiest fish are out of pads.