Whoever gave you that information was right on the money. By using the scud sinker I would make a cast up tide (toward the wind drift) then give out a few metres of slack line. The side current quickly made the line taught to the rod tip and this would have a slight bend towards the end gear. Now all you needed to do was watch for a slack line take. The rod would suddenly straighten and the line would go slack. This was the time to take up some slack as quickly as possible, then strike and set the hook.

This didn't always work but it was far more successful than hanging on to the rod waiting for a run. Frequently a snapper would have removed the bait on the initial take, especially as I was using whole anchovies, a notoriously soft bait once thawed from water immersion.