Hello mate,
They can come out on any bait really, and i have personally seen them come out on sweetcorn! My personal favourites would be squid, raw pigs liver and if there isnt too much small stuff in your lake i would fish half a tin of luncheon meat on a long hair with a nice big hook to match the size of bait your using. Rods i would say at least 2.5 test curve upwards but the most important thing would be 20lb new line, strong hooks and really reliable knots. All these will be tested to the limit when you hook one. Hope this is helpful, good luck. Neil.
I have no idea about fishing