Dont go for cats to much but really want to venture out and try it out... any suggestions about what live or cut bait to use would be appreciated, as well as best way to hook live bait...havent used live bait in years

Thank you

When possible, large gizzard shad. But I routinely use any variety of sunfish, bluegill, and do ok..but no monsters yet. I hook them from the lower lip up and out one of the nostrils. Stay feisty for hours.

live bait is a very broad avenue of bait, as i have seen most anything go on a hook. Anything from worms and small bass minnows to perch and grasshoppers all count as live bait and all will work really well. When baiting up with a live bait it is important to also think about the current you will be fishing in. if it is slow, it is ok to hook the bait through the tail, while if the current is fast, you may want to use the lip method mentioned above or through the eye socket, as there is a way to do that without damaging the eyes, though as a bait i dont know how much they will need them.....lol then it is just a matter of sitting by and waiting. During the summer months, the best live bait you can get are the big yellow grasshoppers that you can find in most fields if you have the patience to catch them, or wake up early and get them while the dew is still on them and keeping them from really moving.

Come here and get some!! First 1,000 FREE !!!!

Just be careful your live bait is not a game fish. It could get kinda expensive if the gw sees that

yeah.....according to what i have heard, "it looked like a perch to me" is not a valid excuse to the gamewarden.....almost had this happen to me, just got lucky that i had someone who knew what white crappie looked like to tell me i was about to go bait a line completely with them....partially because the tank i was getting bait out of was not supposed to have any crappie in it, and partially, cause i almost felt willing to chance it....glad i got my mind changed....lol also, there are some minnows that you can get that are actually endangered and should not be put on a hook

If you can fin some 1.5 pound buffalo you would be in blue can heaven.

Any of the perch or sunfish work well. I hook them through the thinnest part of the tail, basically behind the doral fin. This works for larger fish. If you are huntin 2 or 3 lbers, use worms. grasshoppers are good if there are lots of them and that is what the fish have been feeding on, In my experience, not so much other times. I have trouble keeping shad alive very long.

J49

I you do shad add a little aquarium salt to your bait take this will keep them a lot better. And if you have a way to give them current they can swim into will keep them from running into the walls

awesome advice..thank you all and I will post when I get some bigguns

crayfish are great