I was out in the 3-4 foot waves fishing of all places a windblown bank..It was so windy I had the big motor running the entire time just to keep from getting tossed onto the rocks.. Unfortunately sometimes you gotta get yourself into the worst part of the weather to have those kind of days. Hiding from the wind rarely works.
I'd bet that out of 100 fish that day not one came in water more than 3 feet and most in 1-2.
Big ppencil poppers or chug bugs are the ticket especially in real windy conditions. Dont look for fish.. just work points and drops...not all banks are created equal...sometimes it will just be random along a bank but most times they will be holding on some subtle structure like a point or small drop off. They like having deeper water nearby to escape.
maybe that'll help a little for next time