Clockwise, from top left: minnow, crayfish, sunfish, shad, frog, and grasshopper. Fathead minnows, leeches and worms are mainstays in bait-shop refrigerators across the country. These old standards ...

One of Georgia's best-kept fishing secrets today is hidden at the oldest marina on its rural coastline, at a place called Yellow Bluff. Here you'll find Raburn Goodman with his year-round live bait ...

Striped bass are going for live bait. Jon Conklin, fishing guide, recommends trolling for stripers between Prairie Creek and Rocky Branch parks. Shad or brood minnows are the best bait. Look for ...

Slab crappies are meat eaters—sure enough minnow munchers. They take artificials well at times, especially jigs—but big crappie will turn their noses at even the best of the best crappie lures.