Wanting to catch a nice sized saltwater fish.

Hello, I live along the taunton river and ive been wanting to catch a decent sized fast the past year, but no luck. Biggest fish i got was this pound baby striper. Other than that and a few white perch I have literally caught nothing noteworthy. I have been trying as much as i can but nada. I commonly use spoons and poppers. Maybe a paddletail if I feel like getting snagged. I only fish from the shore because I dont have a boat and I dont want to really bring my kayak into the waves and possibly end up swimming. Any tips? I only fish only when the suns out, and my rod/reels are: some heavy boat rod, and a daiwa BG inshore.
PS. Could someone also teach me how to catch scup? I only have gulp sandworms, and I dont really want to pay for bloodworms.[/img]

Accidentally put this under the nationwide forum rather than the massachusetts one. But this is in massachusetts.

Fishing the Taunton River can be tricky, but here’s what worked for me:

Timing: Fish early morning or late evening. Daytime is too slow.
Lures: Soft plastics or swimbaits are better than spoons and poppers.
Location: Focus on rocks, piers, or drop-offs.
Retrieve: Mix up your retrieve speed; slow and erratic can work wonders.
For scup, use a high-low rig with small hooks and shrimp or squid if you don't want to buy bloodworms. Stick with it; you’ll get that big one soon! Good luck!

Thanks for the help man. Havent been fishing in over a month (normally go twice a week) but ill kick it off next week. Ill use what you said, and reccomendations on exact times? Went at 3:30 AM about 2 months ago, no activity, just pitch black. Guessing that was too early haha.