I fish plugs quite a bit and with good success. I usually tie my plug directly to my main line except when fishing for larger kings. Then I will use a 50" piece of heavier leader just to ward off breaking the line on the teeth. I always fish my plugs at least 50' behind my cable. I have caught fish at all depths on plugs. However, one thing I have noticed is that plugs are usually more effective when there's bait present. Also, I have found that for every 4 plugs I buy, usually only one or two of them really catch the fish. When I get a good plug, I guard it with my life. No one else uses it. I generally use 5" plugs but will move to larger 6" and even sometimes 7" especially when targeting kings in the summer. Over the years the mother of pearl (Tomic 603) or variations of that have been my best producers. I have had good success with the cop car plug that came out this past year. You need to have a good speed to fish plugs. No slow trolls or they don't wobble right. I have had great success fishing them at the same time I fish a flasher and squid, spoon or bait combination.