I'm fairly new to fishing and need help in simple terms of what lures to use and how to use them. I fish omly from shore, have no boat, just bought 3 rods, 2 20lb mono spin, and a bait caster with 6lb mono on a 6ft pole. Never caught a bass or trout in my life, only blues from a party boat and sunny's. Need help for fluke, bass, trout, cats ect. i fish in lower Westchester ny. Thanx

I have never fished the east coast. I would consider myself a beginner when it comes to bass and I have never heard of fluke so that leaves catfish. I use a medium size (6-8)hook. Most prefer treble hooks for catfish but I hate trying to pull two hooks at the same time. Night crawlers work well here in southern California and sometimes even rooster tails. Chicken liver works well too I hear. either way add just enough weight to your line to get the bait about 5 feet deep and wait. Good luck I do believe there are other forums on this site with better advice from more experienced anglers.

I know how to fish for all those species but can't possibly give you enough info in one post or even a couple.  My best advice is lots and lots of research and don't think that everything the bass pros say is going to work for you.  I've noticed that a lot of them have different style that works well for them but may not work for others, and part of their job is also advertising by making an ordinary lure seem extraordinary.  I would research the basics first before listening to the advanced advice of the pros.  Lets start with bass, one of the first lures you should learn how to fish is the stickworm.  The rod you've got is fine but I wouldn't use any line heavier than 12 pound test.  Rig the worm texas style and weightless.  Cast it to a fishy looking spot, preferably shaded if its a sunny summer day.  Let it sink and wait a couple of seconds.  Reel a little then let it settle again, you can also twitch it.  There are other rigging methods too but try this first.  Make sure to pause.  Crankbaits and spinnerbaits, 2 inch swim shads, 2 inch grubs, and inline spinners also work well.  They're pretty easy to use, just cast and reel them.  I know 2 inch baits are very small for bass and you will lose more fish but you get more bites with smaller baits which is a great confidence builder.

if u r going for fluke i would sudjest a wide gap snell hook 1 oz sinker and some gulp, squid or and reel slowly or use a 3 oz and some clams or spears