Live bait

Live bait is usually expected to provide its own action. Using the lightest possible line and smallest possible hook will allow the bait to move freely. Use sliding sinker rigs where possible which let the fish mouth the bait and run with it without feeling resistance. Fish live bait vertically under the boat or use short underhanded casts to avoid tearing it off the hook. With few exceptions, live bait fishing is too slow a presentation for locating fish. However, once smallmouths have been found, often a subtle, controlled live bait presentation will put fish in the boat even in cold water or under tough weather conditions.

Baitfish

To use a baitfish with your terminal tackle, rig it on a small hook through both lips. Use a live bait slip-sinker rig or simply a couple of light splitshot. Give the fish time to mouth the bait entirely, but strike as soon as possible to avoid gut-hooking fish you intend to release. Specialized weights such as bait walkers and pencil weights can be used to backtroll bait fish over snag-infested bottoms. They can also be rigged as slip-sinkers. Minnows under slipbobbers drifted into reefs or over rocky shoals are both effective and easy to fish.

Leeches

To hook leeches, you must hook them through the head or sucking disk on a small, short-shanked hook and watch the action as you lower it into the water. The leech will flutter and undulate like no jig ever could. Leeches can be fished on slightly lighter versions of the minnow rigs. A floating jig head and slip-sinker rig will keep your bait off the bottom and in view of your quarry.

Worms

When using worms, hook your worm on one of the live bait rigs discussed for leeches or minnows. Injecting a small bubble of air into the tail of the garden hackle with a hypodermic or commercially made worm blower is an alternative to a floating jig head. As with all live bait, light line and small hooks will promote a natural look. Give the fish time to work up the worm to the small hook before you close the bail, take up the slack line, and stick it.

Crayfish

The crayfish can be fished on a plain hook or on the other live bait rigs. Crayfish are one of the few exceptions to the small hook rule. These crustaceans are best hooked through the bulky tail section. The hook should enter through the underside and protrude through the top. A hook with a larger bend and a longer shank is needed in order to promote a good hook set. A thin wire helps with the set and allows the bait to move around most naturally. An alternative rig uses a simple rubber band. Place the elastic around the tail of the crayfish and slide the hook under it. This rig gives you a chance to set the hook without the bulky obstruction of the bait getting in the way.