Since the bass were chasing small shad, we tried to "match the hatch" and use lures that slightly resembled the size and color of the shad the bass were feeding on.
But then you never know. A guy last year was casting a 3 or 4 inch gold CastMaster... allowing it to sink to the bottom... then reeling it back to the boat as fast as he could.
I've used crank baits around schooling fish... the bigger the lure, the bigger fish I caught. I have some big, deep diving crank baits. The lipless crank baits work too. We've caught some big fish while trolling the diving lures. Some guys like trolling and regularly catch fish.
But I'm a lure watcher... I like lures that are on, or near, the surface because I love to see the fish rush in and hit the lure. I've met guys that only fish topwaters... nothing else. "If you can't catch it on a topwater, it's not worth catching." (I'm not nearly that dedicated).
The BassAssissan is one of my favorite lures. It's rigged Texas Style so it's weedless and easy to fish right in the grass and wood. The action is amazing, it's simple and easy for even a beginner to fish. It's fairly rugged for a soft plastic lure, you can usually catch more than one fish before it's destroyed and needs to be replaces.
The BassAssissan is heavy and easy to cast. (for those people who like line heavier than the 4# and 6# test line I use) You can get that distance when you need to reach way out where the fish are busting.
I fish it right at, or on, the surface with a steady retreve. Any little twitch of the rod tip gives it a darting, erratic swimming action. They come in a variety of sizes and colors. I use white because I can see it.... the fish don't seem to care.... they like it too.
