Throw a chartreuse/white spinnerbait or black/blue chatterbait tight to the shady edges of docks first. 🎣
First move
Use a 3/8 oz spinnerbait with a single Colorado or tandem blade in chartreuse/white, or a 3/8 oz black/blue chatterbait with a paddle-tail trailer. Cast past the dock, bring it by the posts, then slow-roll it through the darkest shade pockets. If the water is really dirty, go even louder and bigger: a topwater plopper/buzzbait at dawn can be money, and a frog over mats or floating junk is a great follow-up.
Why it should work
After heavy rain, bass often slide to protected dock shade, current breaks, and the first clean water they can find. In stained water, they lean on vibration and silhouette more than fine detail, so thump, flash, and noise beat finesse. Since your weather is late spring with rising pressure and light wind, the bite may be a little more selective than right before the front, so give fish a clean presentation and hit high-percentage targets.
Adjust if
- If the water is only slightly stained, switch to a green pumpkin / white swim jig and fish it a bit faster.
- If it’s muddy, upsized trailers and darker colors usually help: black/blue, junebug, or chartreuse/black.
- If bass are missing the bait, slow down with a Texas-rigged worm or creature bait in dark colors, pitched to dock corners, rope lines, and post clusters.
Backup plan
If the spinnerbait or chatterbait doesn’t draw strikes, go to a wacky or Texas-rigged stick worm and pitch it under the dock, letting it fall on semi-slack line. That’s often the deal when fish are pressured or sitting tight after the runoff. For a ready-made dirty-water box, a kit like the FONMANG 322-Piece Fishing Lures Kit has spinnerbaits, jigs, frogs, and soft baits that fit this exact situation.
Go hit the shadiest docks with the most current influence first — the fish are there, they’re just not feeling chatty. Keep it tight, loud, and confident 😎
