I'm pretty much with "Colayn" ... I use 1/16oz jigs as my primary bait, whether I'm fishing shallow or deep. If there's a lot of wind, I may still just use the 1/16oz jig, if I can still get it to the depth of the fish. But, if that's not the case, I'll add a #4 splitshot about 1' above the jig.

I can tell you this : I happen to have a 7' IM7 Bionic Blade rod / Shimano Spirex 2000 reel, with PowerPro 10/2 hi-vis braid. I normally use this outfit when casting Roadrunners, Whirly Bees, or other hard/metallic baits. I rigged it with a 1/16oz jig/plastic and put the splitshot on about 1' above the jig, in order to fish down in some deep brush piles. Even though the jigs are weedless, they can still get hung, and the splitshot offers a chance to bounce it loose ... as well as helping get the jig down quicker. While I was fishing, I was catching fish on another rod without the added splitshot ... even though the bite was kinda lite. When I switched over to the BB/SS/PP outfit .. I noticed a very significant difference. The bite was no longer "lite" ... in fact, it felt like they were slammin it !! The bite feel went from feeling like someone "touched" the rod, to feeling like someone dropped a rock on it All the while I was catching the same size fish, out of the same depth of water, with the same jig ... the only diff's being the stiffer rod & braid. When I was catching them with my regular casting outfit (with hi-vis mono), I was "seeing" the bite more so than feeling it (which is my preference, especially when it's a lite bite). But, when I switched over to the outfit with braid, I got a firsthand experience with what everyone calls "living for the thump" !!

Now, understand ... I tie my braid directly to the jig ... no mono leader. Even so, I saw no less willingness of the fish to take the jig. This was on a sunny day, in about 15-18 feet of water, on Green River Lake. I wouldn't be hesitant to use that same outfit & rig, in even deeper water (&/or shallower water) ... or even on any other lake I'd fish.

You do what you gotta do, to get your bait in their zone ... as long as "what you gotta do" doesn't interfere with the fish's sense of security/hunger. My experience tells me that colored line, and lead weights (6" - 18" above the bait), aren't considered by the fish as a deciding factor in whether or not they'll take the bait. If they were, I'd have caught a whole lot less fish over the last 55+yrs.

... cp