A number of folks consider crickets to be the best bait. I tend to agree but they are hard to keep on the hook. One technique I learned as a little kid (40+ years ago) is to hook them right through the middle of the head - right between their eyes. It is hard and a tad difficult to get a hook through there but can be done if you wiggle it a bit. Hook them under the collar, run the hook out the other end and it'll be peeled off in less than a minute. Hook them through the head and you can fish for much longer. The brim have a tough time getting the head off. I've caught multiple fish on the same cricket head. They'll keep nipping at it as long as there is something on the hook. I caught my first bass on a hook that was baited with only a hopper head.