Not sure what you were doing wrong you might of done everything right they just weren't in there! We went out of Toussaint around 8:30am and fished out front of Bessie in 13 to 16 FOW used purple and John Deere green tipped with shiner and had our 2 man limit by 10am plus caught and extra one and released it. We were casting out and reeling in using a quick snap up about 6-8 inches off the bottom and letting it fall without the line going slack to feel the bites. We caught them all with in the first few reels after casting out and didn't get any hits close to the boat. Maybe try that instead of the slow lifting and dropping. I hope your luck turns around.