Agreed Coyote- love the THUMP dipping the stumps with big jigs but you gotta open so many oysters to find a pearl that I don't head that way much. I use a half oz. sinker rigged just like yours and for the same reasons- I like to get down there quickly and get out the same way and hardly ever lose my rig with that heavy weight on the end to bounce the hook off the wood. I do use a 1/4 oz split shot above the hook when I'm tied up or otherwise stationary. At those times I'm more of a line watcher and I'm looking for movement sideways or slack when they hit up on it. I think my crappie sense alerts ME most times when I've got a hitchhiker hanging on but when there are neophytes on the boat they are generally pretty mystified by the whole process and I'm thinking that maybe a slip cork might work better for them. Maybe I should try rigging company with that small sinker like you do. Hmmm.