Thoughts on spooky Reds

Fished yesterday, falling tide. My partner & I were able to boat 7 Reds. We were throwing grubs, spoons, bucktail jigs. The water was really murky. We knew there were fish on this one little flat. We threw our baits right up to the Spartina & gently dragged them out on top of the flat. Time & again we spooked the fish.

Do you think if I were to throw a Clouser on my fly rod that the fish would have been less likely to spook? I’ve had this expensive 9 Wt. fly rod & reel in my garage for 3 or 4 years & can’t bring myself to try it other than practicing on the golf course. It seems to me that this would have been the perfect situation to try it. Any thoughts or advice?