how do most guys do this? i saw a guy the other with a small foam float and whta apperead to be a little jig under it and he would cast it out and twitch it back.

 

what size jig heads? type of floats preferred? what type of plastics?

Thill Gold Medel Supreme Stealth bobber and a 1/32 or 1/16 Mini-Mite jig has worked for me. At times tip with spike/waxworm. This has been gills crappie never caught perch this way. Perch for me have come on nightcrawlers. This bobber uses a slider over a hooked end works well. The one pictured is a bit old and the slider wore out so use a piece of rubber tubing as the slider

 

I have used a 1/16 oz maribou jig under a float for crappie for years. The only trick is to figure what depth to set the float. Once you find the right depth you're in business. The action of the float on the water will give the jig all the action it needs. This probably wouldn't work well in real choppy water. I've caught some nice bass this way, too while crappie fishing. I've found it works well, at times, for bass in highly pressured water.

http://floatsunlimited.com/specialty-peanut-float.html

I love these with a small splitshot and cricket.

I have friends that use these as well with 1/16 oz jig head and black beetle.

reason I really like these floats is they are small and do not create a splash.

I have used a 1/16 oz maribou jig under a float for crappie for years. The only trick is to figure what depth to set the float. Once you find the right depth you're in business. The action of the float on the water will give the jig all the action it needs. This probably wouldn't work well in real choppy water. I've caught some nice bass this way, too while crappie fishing. I've found it works well, at times, for bass in highly pressured water.

X2 on this. Maribou jigs as well as very small tubes work well. I've heard crickets work nice but never tried that yet. As for the float, I go as small as possible. As Blade said, it's just a matter of depth and finding that 1 fish to bite. Once you've got a fish on mark that position in your mind and keep casting to that same spot because they group together and they are competitive feeders so you should be able to load up on them.