If you are out of RI, macks get real tough to find and are nowhere near as "easy" (not really) as in Mass... The rig is called a Christmas Tree or Sabiki rig, very similar in design...
I've heard of good runs of Macks off Newport but my understanding is that they dry up with the herring more or less. The other big bait is certainly bunker/pogies/menhaden and the adult menhaden schools are pretty much taken up by the Pogy Boats...
Guess what, that leaves eels
the best all around bait when you factor ease of aquiring, cost to get and keep alive,
