>When fishing with a hammer, what is the best technique to
>use?

It all depends on where the fish are holding. In my experience, I have found that if you cast out and get hit on the fall 90% of the time it's a calico bass, they hold in the mid water column. If the lure sinks to the bottom without a strike, I try to sloooowly reel the lure back to the boat with a couple winds then stop, repeat, etc. Most of the time you will catch sandbass this way. They tend to hold closer to the bottom.

I usually put one rod in the holder with the clicker on (dead stick) and drift the lure over the bottom then I fan cast the second rod. This way you cover both the bottom and the mid column and its really exciting to get bit on one then the other or both at the same time.

Experiment with different techniques and you should start to see a pattern that works.