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Salt-water fish, unlike the fresh-water species, usually prefer lures that move fairly straight through the water. Faster, too. You may occasionally jig the lure with a short stroke of the rod. But many good fish are taken by letting the lure drift and sink with the current, using no rod action. For them, the weighted bucktail or jig produces fairly consistently. As for the hook, whenever possible I change trebled to singles, putting on a Siwash hook which is preferred by many commercial fishermen. Besides permitting the harmless release of small fish, the single hook actually takes more fish. With a light spinning rod and elastic line, it is difficult to set a large treble hook beyond the barbs are 75-100 feet unless the fish does it himself. A single hook sets again as easily beyond the barb. Besides, if you are using a large treble hook, you're using a large lure and a heavy line, all of which tend to alert and warn the wise old curmudgeon. By getting down to single hooks and finer tackle, you'll frequently have the old Wisenheimer impaled before he's aware of your duplicity, and if the small hook is needlepoint sharp, as it always should be, you'll set it more easily beyond the barb. With a light lure, the big fish will also be less likely to yank it out when he threshed about and goes into his aerial twistings, but there will be much more of this is Chapter IV, Trophy Fish.
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