Females stage deep depending on how close to spawning temp it is. Males make nests and guard them for a consideral amount of time. Get yourself a map and study wind direction. Fish points, sunken islands, and shallow flats near deep water on windblown shoreline.
Jigs and minnows are more the norm right now. As they are the easiest and cheapest choice to maintain close to bottom contact. Myself I like to troll husky jerks on planer boards until I can locate active fish then I will switch to a jig and grub or a jig and minnow presentation.