Best Live Alternative To Worms Or Shiners.

[FirstnameLastname]

Ever tried some random insect. Once tried a couple of beetles flying around, an ant. Caught some little panfish. I here crickets and maggots are good through the ice.

[PersicoTrotaVA]

Millworms, crickets, grubs, mice, goldfish(illegal in some places), bees, lizards, frogs, snakes, crayfish...I'm sure there are more but I can't really think of any more.

[Bluebasser86]

We used to use whatever we could find to catch the bluegills and chubs out of the creeks when I was a kid. Wasp and ant larva made great bait, big millipedes worked well, grasshoppers of course worked great, water beetles caught fish, probably the oddest was large dog ticks that were always abundant on our mutts that ran wild. The fish loved those things and the skin on them is surprisingly tough so we could catch several fish on them. 

[frogflogger]

Knew an old man that used whatever he found on his way to the river - he always caught fish - He said fish ate what was around at the time.

[timsford]

Crawfish in creeks and rivers. Ive never failed to catch a bass in clear water when i could see it and cast a live crawfish in front of it. Bluegill hooked behind the dorsal in ponds or for stripers in Rivers

[Shanes7614]

Helgremites

[everythingthatswims]

Gulp Minnows 

[Dwight Hottle]

Leeches.

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Helgremites

Yup. Also called Dobbies (after the Dobson fly they grow into) Nasty little critters but the fish (especially smallies) love 'em.

[Shanes7614]

Smallies CANT resist a helgremite!!!! The best live bait I've ever used for them PERIOD!!!

[FishTank]

Blood worms when I can find them.   I have also tried centipedes with great success.

[Dyerbassman]

Wives, children, .....

[Kevin22]

For bluegills? Anything that you drop in front of them. 

 

Last summer I was on a real good river bluegill bite. C&R and threw back at least 50 keepers (over 8"). The bite was so good that I went through every redworm I had. When I was running out I kept a sheepshead as I heard gills would eat cutbait. Well, little tiny chunks of sheepshead meat does in fact catch bluegills!

 

As a kid we used to catch them on cigarette filters and pieces of string tied to hooks. 

 

But, if you want a more "advanced" option try the gulp line of baits. I have 6 jars of the mini earthworms in the boat at all times, they flat out catch fish. I rarely take worms when bluegill fishing anymore. For crappies, can't beat the 1" gulp minnow on a 1/32 ball head jig.