As strictly a shore guy, I'm a die-hard plugger but I always have my ace in the hole with me which is a soft lunch cooler with a half a dozen live eels in it. I never leave home without 'em.
This past year I found eels were the only thing they'd hit consistently after going thru my bag and giving all of the old reliables a good shot at it. But I always start with plugs.
I rarely fish chunks, although I'd be the first one to tell ya that fresh chunks - after live-lining - are gonna drop the biggest fish. I just can't make myself sit on a bucket of pogies that long and though I may fish bait once or twice a year, I didn't fish bait at all this past season. It's usually a desperation move for me to pull out of a batting slump.
Joe and Bobby at Edwards always do a major double take if I go into the shop for pogies instead of plugs.
This coming year? I've got some eel-skin jigs and plugs that are finally gonna get a work-out, I'd love to live-line herring but my schedule at that time of year makes it tough for me to catch and maintain 'em. The missus is already pretty good about my eel-grooming and the patio live-well.
Oh yeah, and this coming year I'm gonna try flyfishing - picked up a custom Loomis 10 wt. and an old Battenkill for a starter set-up - plus 2 dozen flies I won, so I guess I'm good to go.
It's gonna be interesting, being a complete rookie at something on the backside of the half-century mark.