Live vs. Artificial

Last weekend I was fishing Morgan Lake, catching a few here and there on jigs. I ran into a friend of mine that was fishing with live bait. He was drifting with 6 poles out and had 3/4 a cooler full. I was getting plenty of bites but they weren't holding on when I tried to set teh hook.

We were both fishing the same method (drifting) but I did notice he was fishing about 3' deep and I was about 6' - 8'.

My question is: Do you think he was catching more than me because he was using live bait or the depth he was fishing or both?

Most likely a combination of both. Sometimes crappie prefer live bait but they always want the bait whatever it may be above them. I would lean a little toward you were fishing to deep.

Probably a combination......crappie can take a bait in and spit it back out so fast you don't always have time to hook them....the live bait probably made them hold it longer

Put Some Kodiak Paste In The Tube Jig, I'm A Firm Believer In It. Minnow Or Waxworm Paste Work Really Good For Crappie....

You know crappie will eat jigs or minnows, the difference seems to be the depth your bait was at compared to his, from your post. Earl knows first hand that this can happen and I tend to agree.