Carp/Catfish question

I primarily fish for largemouth bass so I need a little help here.

My house is a short walk from Beaver Brook in Dracut. I cut a path through the brush to the brook a few weeks ago, and have fished it 3 times, and only caught a smallmouth and some fallfish. The conditions of the spot (muddy water, smaller brooks running in to the spot, a bend in the brook, downed trees etc) have me thinking that it would be better suited for bullhead and carp.

I'm going to see if I can catch one there this week using bread, but I can't tell from anything I'm reading if I should be letting it float, or using a sinker to drag it to the bottom, or is it a matter of preference?

I just compared the species list for the Brook for MA, and NH....since I am north of the dam it looks like Carp are out of the question.

Both fish are bottom feeders, so keep it relatively close to the bottom. Bread balls are good for carp, dead fish/cut up fish or crawlers are good for bullhead.