Live grasshoppers and crickets!
     Whenever using these two baits, select a hook size proportionate to the size of the bait. If the hook is too large, you will kill the bait or prevent its natural movements. Each of them should be hooked through the thorax, which is the forward portion just behind the head.
    These baits will not stay alive very long, so be especially careful to make your hook up and get that bait in the water as soon as possible. Running the hook through its thorax from top to bottom, or through one side and out the other, is the most effective way.

    Grasshoppers can be caught in weedy fields and crickets can be bought at some bait stores. If not, wild crickets can be found in fields and under debris, where they stay hidden until dark. Certain lighted areas around shopping centers sometimes attract crickets.

A must is a cricket cage, and to keep them happy toss in a few potato peels to munch on.