I have to admit I was a little discouraged when I heard "rockfishing - bring 6 - 8 oz. sinkers" but it ended up being a lot of fun. We spent a good portion of the time in only 75 - 100 ft. of water and never went deeper than 160. Everyone seemed to have a lot of fun and caught lots of fish. What worked the best for me (and was the most fun to fish) was a 5" Olive/Red Stripe Big Hammer with a 1.5 oz. red head, 2-3 oz. egg sinker above that, and a small strip of squid. My rod was a little light for 4.5 oz. but it was a lot of fun. Got my first legal ling since they changed the law to 26". That rig has worked for me in the past with rockfish. Tried a couple other colors (Channel Island Chovie, Green Sardine, & Keylime) but they wouldn't produce.