Varies on where we fish. If the water is deep enough we use HJ 10's or HJ 12's. Fire Tiger is a good bet, but other colors work also.
If fishing shallower water, it's better to use a floater. Almost all the fish I catch come from the depths you mentioned, 1-8'. They can be very shallow at night.
If you want to read some good posts on fishing a river, go to "walleye central" and read the Susquehanna River thread.
BASICS!!!!---EDDYS, EDGES OF CURRENT, CURRENT BREAKS, AREAS WITH LARGE ROCKS, FRONT AND BACK OF BRIDGE PIERS. No secret, just have to do a little homework and find prime spots. These will also hold walleyes during the day.
You can go to ANY article on fishing a river for walleyes, and every one of them will mention the basics I listed above.