Everyone knows "the book" says that big fish must have deep water access close by to be comfortable. That way they can suspend over deep water and move just a little ways to feed and then right back out to suspend. I have caught a 10+ out of about 45 ft. on a 4" worm at Poway, but I cant count the #'s of 8-10lb bass I've caught out of 1ft or less. And I'm not talking about trout baits on the surface. I've caught 8+'s on frogs in 6"of water. You can actually see the fishes back as it swims over to the frog to eat it. These are little pockets that have no deep water access within 100 yards or so. I guess they should consider re-writing "The Book".
My personal feeling is that you need a few things to allow those fish to be comfortable is the shallows. First off, there must be cover. Either grass, tulies, bushes, rock or even shade from a tree on the bank. This does three things, it hides the fish, shades their eyes and cools the water temp in the summer months. Second, there must be a valuble food source. And I'm not talking little bait fish. I've never seen a fat man run a mile for small flank steak, but he will run 2 miles for a fat filet mingon. Same thing holds true for big bass. Those big fish want a big meal. How many times have you got stuck in the back of a cove, gone to get your bait off, and seen a thousand bluegill and baby bass around the shallow cover. Not to mention the frogs on the shore that occasionally make their way into the water. Thats what they are after. Don't be afraid of the extremely shallow water. I learned back east that there is no water too shallow for a bass. I have had them almost jump on the shore to eat my frog before.

Of course, this only applies to the warmer months. In the winter, the big fish are still shallow, for the most part, but it takes some sun and some warm rocks to put them back in the cuts. Thats rare. I'm sure everyone reading this knows that in the winter, you need to throw the Slammer or some other trout bait. As long as your lakes have trout. Might as well throw the 12" because, if its going to eat the 9", its going to be more interested in the 12".

Just my 2 cents on what to do for big fish in the warmer months. I still think that besides the spawn, winter is the best for fish that are 10+. But for fish in the 5-10 lb range, try the shallows!!