i put a 2 once weight on my line. then my swivel. then a hook. can use a leader if wanted. Get a map and find the deepest spot or just experitment with spots. i buy large catfish hooks. then bait it with a big night crawler. YOu can spry it with wd40, preperathion h, catfish spray from bait mait. garlic and salt. or something else thats nasty. or you could just buycatfish bait.