It's getting cold in the north east and my focus is switching to ice-fishing.  I'm new to the drop-shot technique and was wondering if anyone has tried a similar presentation with live minnows through the ice.  I figure it would keep the bait right near the bottom, for walleye, and maybe tie a dropper loop to give the minnow a little room to swim around.  Anyone ever try this?

This month's In-Fisherman has an article on this technique. Seems to me it should work well.

Why use live bait? A 3" Senko, wacky rigged and fished on the drop shot, should be great for bass....if that's your target species.

Hey they make Crappie rigs that look a lot like that.  I use them when I am trying to get the bait suspended on a dropoff or something.  You can spend the money on the rig, or you can get a three way swivel then use a pre-packaged snelled hook on one of the prongs with the weight coming off the other.  Another thing to do is to put a clear bobber about a foot or two above the swivel to keep your bait suspended and not falling to the bottom.