Both have there place. My him lake has allot of shad. They are the predominant forage species of the crappie in this lake. A minnow thrown out while they are feeding on shad goes unnoticed. On the other hand a jig in shad colors will put a hurting on them. I like to keep the minnows that I use in a tank where I can feed them a little and make sure the water stays clean and filtered. They are more hearty and livelier that way. To me healthy bait will out catch have dead bait store minnows every time. Plus I have them if I wake up in the middle of the night and decide to go fish. I don't have to find a bait store open.