The first step in catching fish is getting the bait to them; second step is getting them to bite the bait. If a free-sliding sinker allows you to get the bait to the fish, with a fair degree of efficiency, you can move on to step 2. I know guys who peg the sinker every single time, regardless of water conditions or cover. I used to do that also, but in recent years I’ve done some rethinking and realized that the bait works more naturally, plus also floats more up into the eyesight of the bass, if unpegged. I don’t have any hard evidence, but unpegged makes more sense to me if the cover allows the bait to go through.