Sounds like a plan. Two things to bring along for those areas you described... a suspending jerkbait (try to match the forage size and color) and an in-line spinner (Mepps #3 Aglia)
For some info on jerkbait fishing check out this review:
Article that discusses fishing jerk-baits 
The Aglia size #3 comes in many different combos of hair, no hair & blade color. My personal favorites are the following:
#3 Aglia, Silver Blade, no hair.
#3 Aglia, Gold Blade, no hair.
#3 Aglia, Silver Blade, Black hair bucktail or marabou.
#3 Aglia, Gold Blade, White hair bucktail or marabou.
I have specific reasons for using these 4 specific in-lines. Keep in mind this is what I have experimented with over the years and are what I consider "good rules to follow"
1) Blade color I change based upon the light conditions. On over cast days, use Silver on Sunny days use Gold. (Don't ask why, just trust me)
2) Depth range: If I'm fishing shallow 8' or less I use the Aglias with hair. If I am fishing deeper water, I first try and trim back the hair with a pair of scissors so that the lure will stay down during the retrieve. (Always cut hair evenly around the hook a little at a time and cut from the base where the thread is tide) The more hair you remove, the deeper you can fish these in-lines. Obviously the ones with no hair get down the deepest; however the hair is one of the main components that make these lures so good.
3) Short Strikes & finicky bass: If the conditions are really tuff and you notice that bass are pushing or missing the in-line, switch to an inline with no hair. All that the bass have to key in on will be a little piece of plastic tubing that is around the shaft of the hook (it's like red/orange color comes standard on the no-hair models). Many times this adjustment will produce hook-ups, when the models with hair do not.
If you have never used in-lines before, they are very simple to fish with. For me, I do two things with them:
1) Fish them around cover like, docks, laydowns, brush piles, etc. but I work around the edges, just barely making contact with the cover. (They hang up a lot, so you need to pay attention to where you are throwing them). I like to keep them coming by the cover at a depth where the just loose visibility. So let them sink out of sight, start the retrieve and make an occasional twitch to flare the blade. Most strikes come on the initial fall or right after a twitch.
2) Deep water/Open water/Weed Edges (parallel): Make a long cast, let the Aglia sink all the way to the bottom and before you start reeling in, give it a quick rip off the bottom to get the blade turning, then begin a extremely slow retrieve... the key here is to maintain bottom contact. If you do not feel the Aglia making bottom contact, pause and allow it to fall back down on semi-slack line. Many times, you'll get hit when you pause and allow the lure to fall. Assuming you are making good contact, instead of a twitch, I like a "pull, then pause" retrieve in deep water. The one thing I will say is that there are days when they want it constantly moving and just ticking the bottom, so experiment with the two retrieves.
If you are not hooking up with either the jerkbait or the inline, most likely the bass are not looking for a horizontal presentation, they want something vertical. I would immediately switch over to a jig-N-trailer or another vertical type lure.
Well, that might not be what you were looking for, but it is what I had to offer, so I hope you find something helpful.
Kick some butt!
BC
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