Water Temp 68-where to fish?

[Rattlinrogue]

Right now the water temp is 66-68 degrees from 6 AM till around noon when I leave.Where should I concentrate my efforts?Should the fish be in backs of creeks and coves or should I go deeper?This is ultra clear water with loads of vegetation in the shallows.Last time I went caught fish on rip-rapped dam.5-7 feet falling off into 14-16 ft of water.Fished the shallows early with only one dink caught.The sun hadn't started warming shallows yet.Moved to rip-rap mid morning and caught majority of fish(only 4).Should I start later and fish later?No luck on traditional fall baits.Caught fish on c-rigged watermelon-red 3x lizard.Any suggestions welcomed.

[hookset]

I would probably start in the shallows throwing a buzzbait and spinnerbait then move out deeper as the day goes on and drag the carolina rig.  Around here in NC ive been seeing a bunch of schoolers late in the evening from about 3 until 5. Hope this will help, try fishing a little later and see if the bite doesnt pick up a little

[Chris]

Fish the edge of the weeds where the growth thins out because of depth. Fish points or any main lake feature like a main drop or bluff. Concentrate on any hard cover that will retain heat or any overhead cover. Overhead cover could be a dock or where they weeds top out or a tree. Clear water that has any wood in it would be prime to include stumps. Try to locate the wood that is either in or next to deep water. Your points you want to back way off of and fish it. Any hard bottom should hold better fish. This time of the year you have two patterns shad or crawfish. If shad pattern and movements isn't working then switch to areas that would hold crawfish. If you are fishing in a lake that the weeds never die then look for areas that have a change in weed growth like dollar pads and cat tails or hydrilla.  Locate transition areas of weeds from one kind to another. Backs of creeks means the deep side of the creek. Think about it like it was a drop off first fish parallel to the drop then fish it at a 90 degree with a worm, spinnerbait, crank, jig, tube. Try different presentations like swim or work the bait so it dumps off into the drop or just visualize where the drop is then use a drop bait and let it fall right up against the drop.

[5bass]

Docks.

I would hit shallow docks first, (most will have posts,I prefer a dock with posts in the fall)......if you cant get bit on the shallow docks,move to deeper water and fish the floating docks.

Before you move to the docks,early morning is the perfect time to catch a few fish on creek points that have shad on or near them with a buzzbait or maybe a Pop-R.

I have been catching good #'s of fish with a super fluke around docks the past week or two.Even if the fish wont hit it,you will most likely draw them out from under the dock taking a look at it and you'll get a look at them. Then you'll know they are there and can hit 'em with something else on your next pass.Make sure you have some good polarized glasses on and always keep an eye on your bait and around and under your bait.

One thing I have been doing different than most fluke fisherman do,is I am letting it sink a foot or two before starting my retrieve.The deeper the water,the deeper I let it sink.

[Guest avid]

68 seems like an ideal temperature for bass.  I would look for other factors such as wind, cloud cover, etc before picking a spot.