Drew, it depends on why I'm fishing for them.
Catching them for bait I would sling out a string of feathers and catch what I would need for fishing. Cast as far as I can varying the speed/depth of retrieve until I can locate the shoal.
For a bit of sport I would fish as light as possible - luckily there are areas here where they are close in to man made structures and rocks, so I can get the odd one or two on a fly rod using homemade/sea trout flies.
If they are a bit further out then a light spinning rod with silver metal lures.
As a kid I used to baitfish for them - using mackerel/herring/sprats on size 1 hooks.
Usually they don't appear on the shores of East Scotland until mid June
