The best bite for bass is probably an hour or so before and the hour after sunrise or sunset...the magic hours. Stripers by nature are more nocturnal feeders. Of course that doesn't mean they won't eat when the opportunity is present. Moving water is probably the best time to fish no either tides as well.
Whether boat fishing or fishing from shore, best places to start are where the bait is...it's like finding a fat guy at a buffet
! If you don't have any luck with fish on the bait, next try fishing structure. Deeper holes or channels, ledges, drop offs, points, etc... From the boat you have all the electronics, too, most likely, that will help you identify this and possible mark some fish.
You may have to try different baits as well or the way you are presenting the bait. Cut bunker or bunker heads, may work better than whole or livelined bunker at any given time. You really just need to experiment.
Best thing you can do is just fish. You can't always have the right or perfect conditions and plenty of fish are caught in the absolute opposite of perfect tides, moon, weather, etc... Even if you aren't catching, you can still learn and find places that you can go back to and try another day. Fishing only gets better the more you do it. It's really a gamble, all the time.
I don't have any secret spots and since I don't boat fish, I can't help you out with areas.
Good luck. I am sure the more you fish, the more you will catch and find your own niche for limiting out. Another good idea, might be to charter or hop on an open boat. Any of the Captains and Crew are pro's and even from one trip you can learn a lot of tactics that you can then employ on your own boat.
