Kalicos...

Those are some questions that I can take hours to answer. Unfortunitly, I don't have that much time.

What structure... any structure that the fish are on. You need to fish a swimbait just like you would any other lure. You can't be afraid to throw a swimbait in wood or any other structure or cover that you you would fish a crank or a jig.

Shallow or deep?... Where the fish are at. obviously if the fish are deep... you need to fish deep but you need to eliminate water. It is easier to start shallow and work deep in my opinion.

Trout vs. Bluegill baits... Personally I fish 99.99% trout baits. I may fish a bluegill bait once a year and typically that is in the summer and early. The gills are typically shallower in the summer (early in the day or late at night) so take that into account when you are fishing that style of bait.

Open water, where to cast... Once again this will go back to the piece of cover or structure that you are fishing. You need to search out these areas and set up correctly in order to get the fish to react. If you are too close, you will either get a follower or nothing at all. Boat positioning is crucial when you are fishing open water / offshore structure.

Swimbaits aren't a silver bullet that you can just go out there and catch fish. There are a few guys that consistantly catch big ones on swimbaits because the pay attention to the small details. If you are new to the game of swimbaits, I suggest that you pay attention to the time of year and what bass "typically" do in that time frame and react from there. This time of the year... bass are usually caught early and late on topwater and on worms midday. Follow that idialism and start shallow... go deeper and then shallower. You should be able to locate some fish that way. once you have located them, take your time to set up on them correctly.