Many, many times when I am casting a point, I ll catch one or two fish tight to shore, then I ll catch five more right next to the boat. They will follow the first ones out. Or, they got spooked and moved out deeper right next to me. You can catch them by vertical jigging. A few guidelines are helpful when deciding what live bait should go on your jig.
Minnows seem to work best in spring and fall.
Nightcrawlers are a good choice anytime of the year. Use only a half or a third of the nightcrawler. Leeches are good in water at 55 degrees or above. Colder, and they tend to ball up and be ineffective. When it comes to color, brighter ones like chartreuse yellow, lime green or orange, are good in dirty or stained water.