I was told by my mentor to throw the minnows away and just use jigs,,,,so I tried it and it absolutely out fished minnows …I actually had my best season ever using no minnows and just jigs tipped with crappie niblets ,,,sauce was optional for thos super hard days,,,,but it seems they bite more if they smell the bait then just mere movement…..in fact, the more we tried to keep the jig from moving, the crazier the fish got,,,,lol