[Amish Ed]

Lot of good info here. I'll toss in my $.02, some of which will repeat others comments because they're that important.

Stay in contact with the bottom almost all the time. Drag your bait across it, skip and hop it across the bottom, buzz it across the eel grass. What ever, just make sure it's down there. I fish anything from 3/8 to 1oz depending on the bait and the depth. If I'm in really tight and shallow and it's something other than a spinner bait, I'll fish light. For spinner baits I like to fish heavier, like 3/4oz in 10'. But if I'm fishing a 3/4oz swimbait, I'm probably in something closer to 30-60'. For all baits, the faster you're winding the more weight you can get away with.

My retrieve varies until I start getting bit. But usually it's a slow crawl along the bottom. Sometimes winding 3-4 times and then letting the bait go back to the bottom. And rarely I tie on a heavier bait so I can retrieve fast across the bottom.

For line weight I like 6-10lb most of the time. 17lb for blades and jigs.

For baits I mostly use the Edge Flurry in 3" and 4". For spotties I like Fire Avocado, Minnow Magic, Chatreuse and Gold, Redfish, Gums, and Sea Food. Halloween is also a good one. When I'm not using those I like Assault Salt Shaker worms and Ringer Worms, Zoom Super Flukes, and grubs. I almost always fish these on either a Owner Sledhead, Texas or Carolina Rigged. On occasion these are used as trailers for Warbait jigs.

Use some kind of scent too. I use Hot Sauce, any of the others will work though.

Finally, as your abilities grow, so will your confidence. This is a big key to fishing artificials. Not really sure why, but it is. I once fished next to a guy using smoke/sparkle, I was using clear/black flake. Both of us were wacking the bass. We switched baits on a lark (He NEVER uses anything but smoke sparkle). Neither of us could buy a bite. Switched back, and we were on the fish again.

I know I'm missing lots, but I have 4 kids and a wife that need my attention.