Don't be tempted to fasten your lead on using a snap link. It seems like a good idea since you could change weights easily but a 'dangling' lead at this point often leads to tangles. The problem with drifting is that often, you are hitting your fish at extreme range. This means that there is considerable stretch in conventional mono and it is impossible to 'strike' as such. It therefore is irrelevant whether you are using a fast taper rod or a through action one since the technique is simply to reel hard and fast to set the hooks.
Reels are a different matter though.
I've seen a couple of spools shatter after having two hundred yards of line wound onto them under pressure - one of them was mine and I had a nice double on at the time. Once again the use of low stretch lines is likely to help a great deal here since it is the stretch which causes the problem. The Technique Using the drifter is really quite simple once you've got it set up. Just find a stretch of bank where the wind is off your back and where there is a reasonable depth in front of you and lob it in. Remember to put a bait on first.