Thanks for the plug Pete
Old school guys mostly use wire (monel) since it is heavy it helps getting your line to run further down into the water column... Most people I know have switched to braid and will add beaded drail weights in line ahead of the umbrellas to get it down.
You need a 30 pound class rod/reel combo with 50 pound braid. At the end of the braid tie in a snap swivel which you can connect directly to the unmbrella rig or if you need more weight to keep the rig down, put a drail sinker with beaded chain between the barrel and unbreall rig to keep it down. Amount of weight will be determined on where you are marking fish... If up on top less weight, if down further than more weight. Try one with weight and one without and see what works best on that day.
As far as what sort of umbrella rigs, tubes or shad bodies are pretty typical..I've also recently seen some with Savage tails on them which are long and narrow like a sand eel... They'd probably work best right now with all the Sand Eeels around. Once again, best thing to do is run an assortment and see what works best since that is subject to change every day.
