Everyone has an approach to how they fish. The different ways are as many as there are anglers.
Whether I am in the boat or on shore in some fashion I tend to start with a know producer color and profile, then expand from there based on how the bite is. I call it fast fishing because I carry a lot of plastics in a ton of colors and if the bait I start with isn't fitting the bill I am one of those guys who'll switch out baits, colors and actions usually within 15-20 casts as I search for a bait that gets a few back to back hits and then I slow down a really "fish" it. I'll run baits under a float or cast and jig back. I'll maybe to a static float or a slip float and change the retrieve up to get different actions. I'll search water with different baits and colors while vertical jigging submerged structure or marked fish until I connect then I generally will pick the water column apart starting high and slowly working deeper so I don't upset fish by hauling fish thru areas yet to fish.
If I am casting/retrieving without a float on the line I really like using a head on a hook with a 28-35 degree bend that has a swimming action over a head that has a 90 degree bend and leg and offers more of a hop, so I carry modified Wacky Heads for this purpose. I also carry a wide variety of hook sizes in standard collarless ballhead jigs. 1/32 heads will have hooks ranging from a size 8 to a size 2 to accommodate virtually any carry plastic I make and carry. 1/16 heads have hook sizes from 6 to 2. 1/24 heads have hooks in both 6 and 4. Most of my jigs are either purple or blue but I do carry fluorescent yellow, fluorescent chartreuse, fluorescent orange, and fluorescent hot pink on the off chance I need to use one of those bright colors.
My rods are all between 6 feet and 7 feet in length and are rated for 1/32 to 1/4 ounce jigs but they'll cast a 1/64 well to. Reels are mostly Shimano Saharas or Symetres and are spooled with 4 pound mono or 3 pound Nanolfil.
I'm really at home on the water or casting from shore. I know that Olsarge has a float tube or a kayak, maybe both and that he does well. Mike J and Walleye Wacker are both waders but I know they too are great anglers in a boat. There are a bunch of others on board here that are super successful when they hit the fishing grounds. Muskygary and Lamar have boats.
Other that fishing fairly fast to locate hitting fish, I don't really care to use live bait and the closest I come to live bait as a rule is either a PowerBait and Gulp product. These are in my bucket always.
I try hard to keep my fishing and thinking simple but then I make baits so I have pretty much tossed all of my thinking to the wind and hit the water more complicated than I wanted to.
So how do others here approach their fishing? Its fun to hear how regional differences come into play with common fish.