I use nothing but artificials for bass, mainly targeting calicos and spotted bay bass. I don't target sandbass but get them when fishing for these other guys.
The following all work for both bass types, swimbaits, grubs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, creature baits (Condors, Brush hogs, etc...) and bass jigs.
Fish SBB like you would Largemouth bass, They love structure, docks, eel grass, channel drop offs, boat moorings, rock pilings, etc...
Calicos, outside the harbor, look for kelp and rocks.
A few ways to fish plastics (swimbaits/grubs/creature baits):
Cast, let sink to the bottom and do the slow retrieve (basically dragging the bait/plastic along bottom) and/or lifting the rod and reeling then letting the jig drop back to the bottom (bouncing it along).
Cast and a steady wind thru the kelp, over the rocks/structure/eel grass
This is my favorite, cast a swimbait (4-6") and just reel in as fast as you can wind over/thru kelp, eel grass, rocks, etc... This triggers the reaction bite in both spotties and calicos and they will just about rip the rod out of your hand.
Spinnerbaits, cast and wind thru/around/next to/above kelp, eel grass and rocks. Works really well once the sun is up and you have a bit of wind on the surface.
Crankbaits - cast and wind, with eel grass, get one that will dive to just the top of the eel grass. With kelp, cast up the lanes and around the edges. With rocky structure, work the entire water column and get in tight and bounce the diving lip off the rocks.
Bay/Harbor Colors
#1 - Chartreuse for spinnerbaits, crankbaits and grubs
#2 - Red w/Red Flake - Swimbaits & Grubs
#3 - any color on any day seems to work
One more thought, I like to throw a minimum sized 5" swimbait for spotties and 6" for calicos. I start there, if they don't touch that I'll start moving down to a 4" swimbait and then maybe a grub for spotties. I use a 3/4 - 1oz leadhead for 5-6" swimbaits and that allows me to make long casts and just rip the bait along the bottom for spotties and for calicos along the surface/thru the kelp.
I caught (and weighed on a scale I keep in the kayak and boat) five spotties over 4lbs and eight calicos over 7lbs (including one a bit over 9lbs) last summer fishing swimbaits this way. It's not the only way, but since I have started fishing plastics like this, the amount of larger bass I have caught has increased significantly! I have kayak fished side-by-side with a certain moderator of this board who was throwing grubs, while I was throwing big swimbaits and outfished him 10 to 1. I think that guy now has an entire forum dedicated to bass fishing
and tends to throw big swimbaits
For the bays/harbors, tide can have a major influence on where the fish are staging, you'll need to pay attention to where you are and are not getting fish and what the tide is doing. Also, get a depth/fish finder for your yak, if you do not have one. Use it to help you locate structure and depths. Note this too as you do and/or don't get fish in locations/tide conditions.
Hope this helps, there are about 1 million ways to go with this so let me know if you have any questions/suggestions.
Keep in mind, we are just now starting to come into the time of year when the bass will become active and start biting, spawning, etc... so these past 2 months being "slow" is not unexpected!
Ed