Ive been using a tiny hook and little bits of gulp trying to catch my own live bait. And it works good, maybe too good. In the lake around the corner from me its little tilapia, do bass not eat them??? i cant get a bite on them for the life of me

Try bigger ones. Also try goldfish. I've seen HUGE fish caught with goldfish.

I dont think it is legal to use gold fish.  non native species.  :

you can also try:

live crawdads

live bluegill

live nightcrawlers

I dont think it is legal to use gold fish. non native species. :

Correct. Check your regulations first. Some places allow it, some don't.

JHawk hit it on the head.

Try those baits, especially small bream or bluegills.

are there waterdogs in your area?

Bluegill or crawdads  

Just go with shiners. Go to your local feed store and buy a bag of hog feed pellets. Take a 1 quart zip loc and fill with hog feed. Poke holes in bag. Tie 20lb mono to bag throw bag in lake tie mono to tree come back in 24hrs and throw a cast net. Easiest way to catch 3 doz. shiners in 10 minutes.

In Wisconsin when I was a kid there was an old guy that used live whit emice from the pet store. Hooked them through the *** and then let them swim out amongst the weeds and lily pads. I dont remember seeing him catch anything the time I saw him using them but I remember it looked like a good bait, but sounded cruel and unusual.

I can imagine though that a big mature bass would think a fat mouse would be a tasty meal. All the splashing and swimming would draw a lot of attention.

I also have seen live frogs used.

NO goldfish bait in Florida.  Don't do it.  EVER!!!!!!!!!!!  

Yeah, goldfish are a definite no-no in florida but I do hear they work great. My brother lived in Texas for a while and they would use sand mice as bait for both bass and redfish. Small tilapia work here in Southeast Florida as well as shiners.

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