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Great questions.
How you retrieve the HDS largely depends on what’s going on at your fishing spot. For example, if you’re fishing a spot like The Jump in Venice — where the current is screaming and the water is 25ft+ deep — you’re pretty much just hanging that thing off the back of the boat.
In other places where the current doesn’t move as fast (but still moves), then you’re casting up current of the boat, letting the HDS get to the bottom and move with the water like bait naturally does, then reel in and cast again once the HDS has drifted past the boat.
I cover this inside this lesson inside of Inshore Fishing 101.
Otherwise, it’s not a topwater, it’s not a twitch bait, it’s not a finesse worm. It’s a Heavy Drop Shot. It stays glued to the bottom.
As for fishing mid-depth, I’ll save you the trouble: those weren’t trout. There’s a 99.99% chance they were gar. Trout are usually going to be at the bottom or at the surface (like when they’re chasing shrimp). Never say “never”, because there’s always oddball situations, but I have never caught trout after figuring out some kind of “suspended” game like one would with largemouth bass. They just don’t do that.
But, if I wanted to catch fish suspended, then I’d look at casting and retrieving a jighead with whatever soft plastic you like best, or (if you’re set up for it) dropshotting them on sonar, or crankbaits.
