Sk8man

Nice going Art.....regardless of catch always fun just being in that area

The mono section is a commonly used approach. I use the 50 lb braid (backing) because it seems to cut through the water better than the mono and has no stretch. I haven't had any problems of the braid weakening.You should also keep in mind that any time you have a knot in your setup it can be a potential weak spot regardless of the knot used and the more knots the more fleas can be attracted (the copper itself is usually flealess)

Yes you can run it on 22's the depth will depend on many factors such as boat speed, currents, what you are running on it, perhaps the diameter of wire (e.g. 32 vs 60). You can run it either way on boards or down the chute (middle of your stuff out back). You could even hook a balloon to it to get it away from other stuff out back instead of boards.

Go deep

Larry - :yes: :yes: all the way around

britty I think you may be thinking of what we old school dudes used to call flashers are now called "cowbells"

I'd use rubber bands if it were me and especially if you are using roughly the same spot to put it in the release. A lot of folks worry about breaking the core lead inside but most of the actual strength of the leadcore is the outside sheathing material.

I also run the TX44's with the release tightened down real snug on 50 lb braid and take the board off as I get to it on the way in but I don't run my boards way out either like smaller boards and with this approach you never want to slow up bringing in those boards when you get them near the boat because if they "dive" you will be hard pressed to bring them in when they are nearby (or under) You can run almost anything including a Seth Green rig off them though.

Some folks here use heavy duty BRAID as well. Less resistance and no "singing wire". I stick with wire though because I'm skeptical about the braid holding up over time especially with UV rays beating on it.