Arron,
I fish landbased in Brisbane waters or off my kayak. With bait fishing I always use a running sinker straight to the hook. At the moment I have been fishing around Ettalong/Umina beach area using a bean sinker (size varies on current flow) and a 3/0 circle hook with half a Pilchard as bait and getting some nice flathead. Usually I can feel a tap,tap then some weight starts to load up on the rod and I strike.
Tim