i dont know if u have tried it but one bait that is easy to use and easily fished weedless is a fluke. I use an albino fluke and just twitch it around limbs, rocks or bridge piers. I have caught hundreds of smallmouth on them in elkhorn and is about the only bait i throw for them except buzzbaits in summer after dark. The fluke is a pretty easy bait to use, i dont use a weighted hook, i just want them to sink really slow and the clearer the water the better. I like to keep it in sight just because they will come up and eat them most of the time since the creek is not that deep in most places and there is nothing better then seeing a 3 lb bronzeback roll up on it. it will make your heart skip a beat. black buzzbaits in the summer r also great at dark and after dark. oh yeah go to walmart and buy the chartreuse dye for soft plastics and dye the last inch or so of the fluke, always gets me more bites.