Start with a bait that slips deep, skips well, and still gets noticed 🎣 After rain, bass around docks usually set up on the shadier, calmer side and use the dock posts, floats, and the first deep edge for ambush. If the water is a little stained, my first pick would be a compact jig or a chatterbait worked tight to the shade line. If the lake got really dirty, step up to something with more thump and profile like a vibrating jig or a swimbait. If the water stayed fairly clear, a wacky rig or tube skipped far under the dock can be deadly.
Here’s the order I’d try it:
- Chatterbait / bladed jig — great after rain because it pushes water and finds active fish fast. Use a steady retrieve and tick posts or the dock edges.
- Skipping jig — perfect when bass are tucked way back in the shade. Pitch it past the target and skip it under the dock, then let it fall on semi-slack line.
- Wacky rig or tube — when fish are pressured or the water is clearer, these get bites when bigger moving baits don’t.
- Frog — only if the rain flooded grass or there’s thick surface cover near the docks. Otherwise, keep it as a secondary play.
For videos, the best matches from your list are:
- Chatterbait Fishing Lure Tips and How They Work Underwater
- ChatterBait Comparison Underwater: Look and Sound
- How to Catch Bass Around Docks with Wacky Rigs
- How to Catch Bass Fishing Docks - Practice Casting
- In-Depth Look | How To Skip Docks
- Catch 10x MORE Fish Using A JIG
Products worth looking at:
- FONMANG 322-Piece Fishing Lures Kit — good starter box with buzz baits, spinnerbaits, jigs, frogs, soft baits, hooks, and weights.
- PLUSINNO 137Pcs Tackle Box — handy if you want a broad bass kit with several rig options.
- TRUSCEND Well-Made Rooster Tail Fishing Lures — useful when you want a compact moving bait with flash.
- 5PCS Topwater Frog Lures Set — best when rain gives you flooded cover or dock-adjacent vegetation.
If you only have one bait to start, make it a chatterbait in a green pumpkin, shad, or black-blue color depending on clarity: clearer water = natural, dirtier water = darker. Fish the first dock with shade and depth change first, then work outward. Rain can scatter bait, but docks often become little bass apartments after a storm. Go make them pay rent 😄
