What bass lure works best around docks after rain?

Throw a black-and-blue jig or a white/chartreuse spinnerbait first. In heavy rain + stained water, bass under docks want something they can feel and find fast 🎣

First move

• Lure: 3/8 oz black-and-blue jig with a compact trailer, or a 3/8–1/2 oz spinnerbait in white/chartreuse.
• Target zone: Skip or cast to the darkest shade under dock walkways, corners, ladder posts, and deeper boat slips.
• Retrieve:
  • Jig: let it hit bottom, then short hop-hop-pause it along the shady edge.
  • Spinnerbait: slow-roll it just fast enough to keep the blades thumping, then kill it briefly beside dock posts.

Why it should work

• Stained water reduces visibility, so silhouette and vibration matter more than finesse.
• Heavy rain often pushes bass tighter to protected cover like docks, especially if runoff has added color and current.
• In late spring, bass are usually still willing to feed shallow, especially around shade, spawning leftovers, and baitfish cover.

Adjust if

• If the water is muddy rather than just stained, go darker: black/blue, black/red, or even all black.
• If fish won’t commit, downsize to a 3/8 oz Texas-rigged creature bait in green pumpkin with black flake and fish it painfully slow under the dock.
• If the docks sit on a wind-blown bank, work that side harder first — wind pushes bait and helps bass set up to ambush.

Backup plan

• Soft plastic: 5-inch ribbon-tail worm or creature bait on a Texas rig.
• Cadence: drag it, pause it, then give it a tiny shake — basically “don’t make them work for it.”
• Best spots: the first deep dock, docks near points, and any dock with shade + cleaner water nearby.

If you want, I can narrow this down to lake vs river bass or give you a dock-only 3-lure lineup for your next trip.