Well I'm no pro by any stretch of the imagination, but I use a bait attached to 12-18 inches of 4 pound test leader. Tie that to a swivel, put an egg sinker on the main line then tie the leader to the swivel. So the rig is:

  1. Mainline (8lb test or better)
  2. Egg sinker
  3. Swivel
  4. Leader
  5. Bait


The reason for the light line leader is any snag is easily dealt with by leader breaking off just tie another leader to the swivel.

The reason for the free moving egg sinker is the fish won't feel it as much.

You can put any bait you want on the end. Sometimes it's just a minnow on an aberdeen, sometimes I use a tube jig, sometimes a jig-minnow combo. Most anything will work.

As for weight, I try to use the least amount needed to keep the bait pointed straight down. So based on depth, wind, etc I'll adjust up or down. In winter when I fish 30+ feet I used one ounce. In spring with little wind to bother the boat and fish are 15 or less, I'll use as little as 1/8 ounce. The less weight the better in my opinion. The fish don't feel the weight when they bite, and the lure is more realistic.