Shiners, chubs, suckers and other minnows, nightcrawlers, hellgrammites and
crawdads are all good baits.... but the all-time best springtime live bait
for bass, IMHO, is salamanders, or water dogs -- the animals on which
plastic "lizard" baits are patterned. They are especially good for river
fishing.

I can gather a couple dozen in a half hour by raking aside clumps of leaves
in woodland ditches, or by moving larger stones in shallow creeks in the
woods around my home. Put them in a plastic tub with lots of holes punched
in the lid. Place some moist soil in the bottom, and add moss clumps for
them to hide among. Some salamanders live mostly in the water, while others
crawl around under the damp forest litter near creeks and drainages. For all
of them, the important thing for keeping them healthy and lively (well...
lively until they sacrifice themselves for the greater good of bass fishing)
is to keep their skin moist. If you can't use them right away and need to
wet the soil, use spring water (distilled, rain water, or tap water that has
sat uncovered for a day or two), as chlorinated water will kill them.

Here's an interesting article on live bait bassing:
http://www.boats.com/content/default...contentid=2181
--
Joe Haubenreich
www.secretweaponlures.com
First real spinnerbait innovation in decades
_________________________
"Brian Spencer" wrote in message
...
What is the best live bait for pullin' in the bass in the spring time??

Brian in Maryland