I'm sooooo envious of the quality of fishing you have available to you.
I'm a mere amateur by comparison. Most of my bass fishing is on a local river, but I'm catching them almost five miles upstream of the estuary on evening in-coming tides. No bait fishing all on various artificials, from small spinners to medium pike plugs. No monsters, but I've had a couple over 6lb. I use 10ft spinning rod, (10-30 gram) light braid and a 10lb mono leader. It is outstanding sport!!! I keep every other fish that is over 3lb, and this works out roughly to releasing 6or7 for each 1 that I keep.
The real beauty of this spot, is that I can start a session trotting a stick float through a swim with maggots after chub and dace, and end it spinning for bass! Plus it's only 5 minuits from my door step.
What I did find unusual in your last post was your shore sport not kicking off till end of May, we get our first ones coming up the river in mid-April.(but they are few and far between)
Mid-summer I try and get as many trips as I can down to Rhosilly (worms head) on the Gower. Jumping around the rocks dodging waves spinning during the day, then gather some peelers in the evening to bait-fish under darkness. I only fish about 20 yards out, into about 18 inches of water. A 2 ounce lead bouncing around in waves with a peeler the size of a tennis ball, then BANG! As you know foxxer when your stood there on your own in the dark it feels like being struck by lightning! It's pure magic!
Tight-lines my friend.
ATB Lee