Fishing with Live Bait.

[angltate]

Hey All,

It's likely that none of you forum-regulars remember me - but I actually joined last year. I've been away for a few reasons: fishing season ended, law school got hectic, etc. I was happily surprised to see that my account was still active, and I was even more surprised I remembered the password!

I have a question concerning fishing with live bait. I already understand that most of you fish with lures - and so do I - but my girlfriend's fiancee` is new to fishing, and he wants to use nightcrawlers and minnows. Whatever. Here are my questions ... any help / guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Nightcrawlers
I don't fish with them - so I guess you could say I'm a novice when it comes to hooking them. What's the correct way to hook them? Basically, I've read that you can hook them multiple times, cast the line out there, and wait... (ehh); but I've also heard that they should be hooked once (either at the tail or "head" end) and then fished slowly.

#1: Which is the correct way to fish a nightcrawler?
#2: If the correct way to fish a 'crawler is by hooking it only once (and fishing it slowly) - then how do you deal with sunnies / bluegills preying on the worm ... constantly!?

Minnows / Shiners
I imagine these are better to use than nightcrawlers? What's a good rig? Any advice would be great. Here are my specific questions:

#1: Hooking the Minnow... through the front two lips? Through the back of the tail?
#2: What's a good rig?
#3: Shiners are more expensive than minnows. Are they worth the extra money?

I really appreciate your help guys!

--
Lou
AIM: Aequitas58