Fishing scrub needs some help...

[fishin_kid]

I'm a novice fisherman, at best, but I've only been "real" fishing for a couple months now.  So I need a little help and advice.

Today I went fishing down at my friends dock on Lake Lanier, and since I don't have a boat, this will probably be one of my frequent fishing spots in the upcoming months.  Today I was using a finesse worm, texas-rigged, just flipping it out around the dock, letting it hit the bottom, shaking it a few times, repeat.  I got 3 major hits:

First fish, I wasn't really paying attention and just reeling the worm in, not expecting anything, and a fish jumped up about a foot from the dock and tried to eat it.  Obviously being unprepared I missed my chance, but the fish ate the back half of the worm off.

Second fish, I saw a spot where a fish had come up briefly, tossed it out there, and the fish hit the worm on the way down.  I set it (or so I thought), and started reeling it in.  The fish jumped (a 3 pounder by my sight estimate) and just spit the hook and everything right back out.  I was crying on the inside.

The third fish I had seen swimming about a foot from the dock, so I flipped it out there and he took it almost immediately.  I saw him run with it, so I set it but the worm flew out.  It didn't look like his mouth was near the hook.

So first question: What am I doing wrong?  Is my fishing strategy wrong since I only got 3 bites in a couple hours?  And how should I be setting my hook so I don't lose fish again?

Also, the dock is in a little cove, about 2-5 feet of water around it with a good bit of weeds, stumps, etc.  What are the best things to be fishing for such a location in the coming months?

Thanks for any help you guys can offer.

[Hammer 4]

A little more info please..i.e. type of hooks your using, are you trying to set the hook as soon as you feel a bump/tap on your line.

Getting hit 3 times in 2 hrs would be considered good in some places, bass are funny like that..they'll slam your bait like crazy one minuet, then nada the next..

Try different presentations, i.e. toss it out, let sit for a count of 15-30, twitch it a couple times, and repeat except do a count to 10 to 15, you can try slow rolling the worm..you can try drop shotting, texas, or rig it wacky..