I'm not that old, Todd. Class of '64.

Oops my bad. DC is a young puppy, aggie's class of 2024 and he grew up in houston like me. Lake Livingston was his old mepps stomping ground

I grew up in houston and fished galveston bay thru college at UH until moving north to DFW. I usually head south and fish Galveston late September to end of October for flounder, specs, spanish, bull red runs. Also September is traditionally the slow month for lakes due to the "transitional" weather to Fall but DC taught me the itsy bitsy #2 and this September has been exceptional for fresh water catching

Garrett,

Based on your original post. You have the right perspective. Spots are just OK, but understanding the big picture well enough to establish patterns is where the magic happens. This thought process makes exploring new lakes fun. Fortunately you listed three excellent fisheries.

There is a great knowledge base on this forum to leverage. Mr. Christian is a legend and extremely generous with his info.

Basics:

For hybrids grab some 2oz flutter spoons from RSR, 4 inch swimbaits, and 5 or 6 XD crankbaits.

For Whites grab some 1oz flutter spoons form RSR, Mepps, and 3 inch swimbaits

Buy the best side imaging graph you can afford and learn how to read it well. This is the most efficient way to search for fish.

Spend some time studying the Navionics web app specifically focusing on humps and ledges 12'-26' near deep water

Enjoy the process!

If you want to expedite the process hire my brother Michael Richardson of Lake Livingston Adventures on Livingston or Conroe and make the most of your 4 hours picking his brain. We love what we do and don't hold back any info.

Marty (and Garrett and others)

As others have pointed out bait color is most often seasonal, lake conditions, and most often fish-preference driven. I usually offer several colors and let the fish tell me what's best for that environment/day, but if I had to choose one specific color that usually works it would probably be the White Hot Thump Buddy. Same criteria applies to tying distance above the slab (or whatever your bottom bait is) but generally any where between 24-30". Again, the fish will dictate.