Interesting dilemma. My live bait, whether I use, shiners, pumpkinseeds, bluegill, or creek chubs seem to die very quickly. If I couldn't find any hungry fish, they'd last from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Lately, they don't last 10 minutes. I generally use 1/2 oz. trolling sinkers and thought I was dropping them too fast towards the bottom.