MT offers some good advice. Contrary to his suggestion, if I tie to a split ring I avoid the spot where the wire is only one diameter thick. I have no evidence to support my thought, but it seems to me the line can get pinched where the parts of the ring come together.

When trolling for lakers, I usually use a spoon (bronze or copper in tannin-stained lakes and silver in clear lakes) and a bait-walker sinker.