I generally hold up a bit on the line like the other guys have said and work it through the tailout. I've had three fish this year that have hit the jig multiple times before a final hookup. Might have something to do with the hook positioning at the time of the drift? This has led me to believe to always let your offering swing all the way through the tailout and as Lani Waller calls it "hang-down", or let it sit for a bit and twitch it. Lots of variables in what you are decribing of course...water depth, current speed...
As far as coloring the float with black...black silouettes better than any other color in the water. Does it make the float more visable? I use the biggest corky in the hottest color (for my visibility) and it doesn't seem to matter. At least I keep telling myself that when I don't hook up over a fish. Also, red is supposed to become invisible faster than any other color in the water. There is a good book out called "What Fish See", saw it at a shop in Oly last week. Looks interesting.