I usually fish in the surf, and while I rarely catch anything, I have landed a couple stingrays, sharks, and small fluke. The majority of my freshwater fishing is in a lake outside of Alstead, NH in New England. One of my tried and true bass lures is any spinner that looks similar to this:
Or if you're fishing around dusk and you see a lot of ripples on the surface from baitfish jumping, toss one of these in:
Sure to get yourself a bite if you're somewhere in the school of baitfish.