What would it look like? What features would it have? How big would it be?

Mine would be a slammer type bait that I could crank down to 10' or deeper. Sure you can fish one of the many lipless baits at this depth but can u crank as fast as u can reel while deflecting off cover and keep it at that depth?

Not sure if my dream bait would catch the fish I dream about but I'd sure like to give that one a try.

Something between a dd22 and 9"slammer sounds about right. In a dark shad pattern with a purple sheen to it.

The old 4 eyes will get down about 10ft. there just hard to find. Something else would be the catchemcaro henrieta

That slammer seems to be exactly what I've been thinking about. I like the idea of that Henrietta too. Jerry Rago's crankin rat is another bait i've wondered about, but have never heard a single thing about them.

It's interesting, I actually have something like you are describing. Mike made it for me years ago for trolling. It has an angled bill so it dives down to 6-10 feet. The bait is an X-2 style. Gotta go find it and take some pics. It would probably work for what you are thinking of.