next time your out there try this, use artificial baits and you want to give it short quick snaps to your pole so you make your betle or cocahoe jump about 6-8 inches off the bottom. it triggers the fish to bite and drives em wild.

you snap and count 1, 2, then snap 1, 2 and with every snap you turn your reel handle to take in the slack. the 1,2 count lets the bait recontact the bottom which is critical because the fish like to see that tiny little tuff cloud of mud from the bait. if it doesnt touch the bottom you dont get as many strikes and most times the fish catch it as it falls and the next snap its solid so always be ready to set the hook and watch your slack line on the fall and you can tell when it doesnt fall and you know its a fish.
it imitates a shrimp jumping off the bottom.