like mentioned earlier they work best for summer runs but they'll still catch winter fish. I use pretty big ones (when I use them). I only use them in heavily fished area's because they aren't my favorite thing to use. White corkies work well or just fished under a float. One major word of caution: don't use them past the 1st of february. Once a few smolts start showing up that's all you'll catch and with any bait the mortality seems to be pretty high.