l have just bought a soft plastic box full with fancy colors and l never fish with soft plastic before l always fish by casting a bait ( shrimp or piece of squid ) and whait for a fish to strike .And now l wanna try new method .( our fish mainly emperor , snaper , sea bream )

l think you are doing right
but you can try new thing always

Rig the lure with a leadhead heavy enough to get it down to the reef. Depending on the depth & the size of the lure this can be anything from an ounce on up to 8 ounces or more.

Cast the lure to the reef, let it sink to the bottom, & bump it in along slowly. When a fish grabs it, set the hook immediately & start pulling it in. If the reef is so sharp u hang up on every cast, work the edges of the reef or try to work it along just above the snags.

In deeper water, u can just drop the lure straight down & bounce it up & down along the bottom as the boat drifts.

If the fish r up off the bottom, cast the lure, let it sink to the depth the fish r at, & bring it in with a steady retrieve. When a fish grabs it, just keep winding & the hook will set itself as the fish tries to pull away. (If u stop winding to set the hook, that instant of slack can be enough for the fish to drop the lure.)

With lures, it is the motion & action which entices the strikes, so u want to keep the lure moving. And as soon as a fish grabs the lure, it will realize it is not food & try to spit it out, so u have to be alert for strikes & react immediately.

Depending on the depth of the water, wind, & current, ur jig head should be anywhere from a 1/16 oz to 3/4 oz. The idea is for the artificial to imitate live bait fish. You will want to vary ur retrieve to see what the fish will want. You can try bouncing it slowly along the bottom, if that does not work, speed it up a bit. If it is a shell reef, you're likely to get hung up on the bottom if u bounce it slowly so u will want to keep ur lure just above the reef. ''Pop, pop, reel'' Pop or twitch ur rod tip up then reel in the slack. The faster u reel, the more shallow ur lure will run. Vary the speed until u find the fish. You can even try a cast out then steady retrieve at different rates. Usually the pop, pop, reel thing works & the fish will hit the lure on the downfall. l wish u luck. l hope u will try topwaters, too--that is the most fun kind of fishing, in my book.
Tight Lines

do not fish in the reef fish above it or beside it on the sand. fishing in it & u will lose ur whole box because the fish & octopus AZ forget to mention that r deep in the holes & crevices of the reef u will not get out of those holes & crevices. l use bait over reefs & plastics next to them fairly effectivly. l can see the bottom when fishing the sand bottoms but here is how l do it when the bite is on the reef & the bait is old & l have to use plastic.
first if u know the depth drop the bait onto & bring up two cranks & raise & lower ur rod tip.
second if u can cast out count down on the fall to the depth just above the reef & retrieve the baits parrelel to its top
third do not fish plastics (swim baits) throw giant long plastic worms 12'' long or better & use the second technique & be ready cabazon & in reef preditors will come out of their holes & feed & then go back into the hole they occupy so crank down ur drag & reel up like a S O B because u have to get on them in a hurry to keep them out of their holes. this would be the time to fish the fastest retrieve reel in ur arsenal.

I've used soft plastics on many occasions over the reefs around here while on party/head boats. The best method for me was to add a a jig head large enough to go straight down, 2 ounces usually works. Once l hit bottom, l crank it in 2-3 times so that the jig is just above the reef & the aggressive fish will have to come up to get it. l just jig it up & down & when l feel a hit, l will set the hook & keep pressure on the fish so that it does not have a chance to go back into the reef. l stopped using soft plastics over reefs though. It started to cost more than it was worth because after one or 2 fish, the lure is no longer good, it is all torn up.
Here is a tip, add a second hook & a strip of bait to it to add scent & entice more fish.~good luck catchin'.