[briansnat]

Shore fishing can be tough. Even if you go with the right bait at the right time, in many places you are standing where the fish are in the shallows and casting out to the deep water where they aren't. In certain seasons and times of the day that can be productive, but it can also be counterproductive at certain times and in certain seasons.

If you are looking for bass, cranks work, but it's hard to beat plastics. Yamamoto Senko and Swim Senko, Zoom Trick Worm, Zoom Speed Worm, Yamamoto Kreature, Rage Tail Thumper, Rage Tail Space Monkey, Keitech, Zoom Flukes and many others. Hook them wacky or with a 4/0 EWG worm hook (or 2/0 or 3/0 for smaller baits) through the nose Texas rig style. Go to Youtube and learn the dropshot rig. That will get you down into the zone (depending on the situation) from shore.

A lot of people here do well from shore but most of them have years of experience in the region and know the go to locations the way you knew Swimming River.

I agree with the Jimmythegreek. Get yourself a beater kayak or canoe for a hundred or two and to quote our governor, "Get the hell off the beach".