Eric,

I have a couple different places I like to start. Next to weeds is always a good bet. Second is over deep water (fish the bottom). Last is over rocky structure (hard to find in most lakes).

I have a couple of different tactics I use. One is an inline perch rig. Basically, you have a weight at the bottom followed by a hook attached to the main line with a bead above it. Up about 6 to 8 inches you have a stopper (crush sleeve) followed by another hook and bead. Up another 6 to 8 inches you have another crush sleeve followeb by a hook and bead ( you can put a bead below each hook as well). I then have a short lead up to a swivel. This is a verticle rig and each hook can travle up the line to the crush swivel. When a fish hits, slowly lift up. When the hook hits the stopper, it is set in it's mouth.

When drifting I like to use a little different setup. I put on an inline egg sinker (that can travel up and down the line) followed by a swivel. I tie on about 12 to 16 inches of leader and then put on a floating jig head. As you drift, the weight bounces off the bottom but the jig is off the bottom because it floats. When a fish hits (no matter how light) you can see the bite on the rod as the fish is not fighting with the weight. Like walleye, crappie and other fish, sometimes they don't like to feel the weight. This rig allows the line to travel through the sinker and the fish doesn't feel the resistance.

Hope this helps