How do i rig for live bait?

im so used to jigs but there not hitting as much, fishing lake naconiche and i am going to throw casting net in the morning and try live bait. Is there any ways you tie on differently like 2 baits at once?

any videos that show what to use?

Killer Crappie Rig
This is the best and works awesome for me and a friend that I gave some to.
Good Luck..

Thanks alot!

I googled crappie minnow rig and found a few I have used with success.

I need all the help I can get.
Will add that to my arsenal.

Steve, you don't use minnows!

That's right I really don't. But I'm happy to help simplify someone's search! I have tried it before. And I have to know how when I take the family fishing! although my wife likes jig fishing. But she just wants to catch no matter how.

I initially had a lot of trouble with minnows as they would wrap themselves up and tangle the line around the split shot I was using. This was a big issue when fishing slip bobbers or tight lining. I fished with Joe Slab and Shut Up and Fish one day and David (from shut up and fish) was using a barrel sinker. Once I started using this type of weight it fixed the problem for the most part.

The other thing I did was keep the bait moving. Crappie like to chase a minnow around looking at it at close range before taking it. I think this panics the bait which proceeds to wrap itself around the weight. Once I drop the minnow down to the maximum depth I am fishing, I count to 10 or 20 depending on how the fish are reacting that day then reel it up one crank. One day fishing the bridge pillars at Ray Roberts, I had some folks in a pontoon fishing right next to me catching nothing while I pulled up one keeper crappie after another using this technique. They eventually left in disgust. I moved over to their pillar later and caught several nice ones of it.

The crappie at Ray Bob are not hungry. In the evening, the whole lake becomes a sea of shad balls. Plenty of food in that lake. The crappie will take the moving minnow as a reaction strike. I kept all my dead minnows and they worked just as well as the live ones using this technique.

The rig I used was a barrel sinker above a barrel swivel with 18 to 24 inches of fluorocarbon line with a number 4 hook.

Good luck

"The rig I used was a barrel sinker above a barrel swivel with 18 to 24 inches of fluorocarbon line with a number 4 hook."


This is the setup I was taught to use when live bait fishing for crappie. I know simply use a 1/16 or 1/8 un-painted jig head and hook the minnow thru the lips.

Bet that will work well. I've caught crappie with a minnow tipped jig before.

I like to rig my weight above my hook so if get hung up, I can use the weight to knock it loose.