Depending on when you fish (as in where in the water column the fish should be located) ... you can use several rigs, other than a hook/sinker/float setup.

One I like to use, when fishing on bottom, is the "worm rig" (as in Bass fishing with a plastic worm). Simply put, it's a 3/16oz bullet shaped slip sinker, with a #4 lite wire hook tied on the end of your line. You "can" put a bobber stopper on your line, between the hook & slip sinker, to insure that the baited hook flutters down after the sinker has hit bottom ... how long it takes your baited hook to reach bottom, after the sinker hits, is determined by how much distance you place between the hook & bobber stopper. Bites are detected by your line moving away from your rod, towards where the sinker landed. I've used this setup for nesting Shellcracker, & occasionally for Bluegill.

Another setup that works, is the "drop shot" rig. Basically it's a sinker tied onto the end of your line, with your hook tied up the line about 12" - 18" (or more) depending on how far off bottom you want to fish & how deep the water is where your rig is thrown (the angle of the line vs the depth dictates how far up the line your hook needs to be ... to get the baited hook at the proper depth). Bites are detected the same way as they are when you're tightline fishing .... you'll feel the jerk thru the rod.

If you know the bottom isn't full of stuff that you'll hang up in .... you could use a simple tightline setup (hook/sinker). But, fishing from shore, you might want to use a much smaller/lighter sinker than you would normally use ... in order for the baited hook to slowly fall thru the water column. Or, you could simply let the rig fall, counting down to the desired depth ... and reeling it back in, before it hits bottom or doesn't get a strike. Mud bottoms, pea gravel bottoms, & moss covered bottoms are good examples of where this rig could be used.

If the lake has the size panfish that the others claim .... artificials are a good choice. Some suggestions for consideration, are :

1/32oz marabou Roadrunner
Sinking Rapala minnow
Mini Crankbaits
In-line spinners (like the Rooster Tail, Mepps, Blue Fox, Panther Martin)
Beetle Spins
Pop-eye jigs (with or without plastics/live bait added)

As for using Crickets .... I'd use a #4 Aberdeen (but, you could use a long shanked "cricket hook", or even a smaller sized Aberdeen). You neither need to, or want to, use a treble hook with a Cricket. What you want to do is to put the hook point into the Cricket at it's neck ... then thread it onto the hook, with the hook point coming out the other end. (Some may suggest just the opposite, & that works, too.) The hook point being exposed does not deter the fish from biting the Cricket .... it looks like another leg coming out of the Cricket. Small fish will peck at the Cricket, at the legs & head .... larger fish will simply suck the whole Cricket in.

Use whatever pound test line that your reel works best with .... Bluegill & other Sunfish are rarely line shy. Your 7' light action rod & 4lb test line are fine.

.... luck2ya .. cp