I've been trying to learn how to use live bait and I'm not successful.  I don't have a boat and I don't have a fish finder/gps.  What is the best way to use live bait?

I've been trying to learn how to use live bait and I'm not successful. I don't have a boat and I don't have a fish finder/gps. What is the best way to use live bait?

A little more info would be helpful Marty.

Shore bound or Boater?

River or lake?

you get the picture.

By live bait I'm assuming your talking about using shiners, minnows or chubs.  You can fish with or without a bobber, experiment.  Some like to hook them thru the mouth up thru the top of the head, others tail or mid back.  If you want to be really cool keep and your bait alive longer try a small rubber band or a wire twist around the girth of the bait then slip the hook underneath it on the topside of the bait, I'd think a minnow may be too small for that.  That method is used for sailfish but I bet it would work great in freshwater.

Nightcrawlers, get a nightcrawler harness and cast.  Red or leaf worms, use soemthing like a colorado spinner and cast.

Always have the option of a plain hook and bobber, sit under a tree, have a few beers and relaxe...........which ain't all bad either.

I usually fish lakes and I don't have a boat so I fish shoreline.  I"ve tried the bobber and nightcrawler technique but it hasn't been succesfull.  I usuall fish from the dock if one is available.  I thought that maybe i'm not finding the fish but in some instances i've seen a bass or even a pike cruise right past my nightcrawler.

Another technique that I use is.  I put a weight at the end of my line and about 3 feet from the end i put a T Line with a size 1 or 2 hook and a nightcrawler.  This technique lets me throw the line really far.  This technique was highly sucessful fishing at a river in nothern paninsula michigana and I also cought a nice pike in the Wisconsin river.  But on lakes in ILLINOIS it has not worked for me at all.