LOL .... my grandparents would have thrown me in the lake for suggesting cutting meat off a Crappie, to catch another Crappie ... or any other species of fish.

Back then (50's-60's) we used minnows, mostly ... and occasionally we'd cast "Doll Fly" jigs. Live Nightcrawlers were mainly used for Bass in the Spring, and occasionally for catfish. The Doll Fly jigs were used for White Bass, along with the Shyster (in-line spinner).
But, when it came time to do some serious Bluegill fishing (late Summer) we'd always stop along the country road leading to the lake, and look for a stand of Giant Ragweed ... usually along the outer fence line of the farms along the road. Burlap bag in hand, and a good pocket knife, we'd look for holes or swollen areas on the stalks of the Ragweed. We were looking for "Horseweed Worms", as my grandpa called them. What they actually were, was a stalk borer grub. And the big gills and Long Ear Sunfish loved them. We'd even catch Crappie, Bass, and Catfish on them.

Here's an article about them ... and you can click on the picture and then on the "older" & "younger" links to see what the grubs looked like : Stalk borers love giant ragweed -- and corn | Integrated Crop Management

(article is copyrighted or I'd copy/paste the pics on here)

Here's another article about them : SECRET Survival Fishing Bait –

And here's a thread from 2004 ... where I talk about hunting them & using them for bait.
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/main-...appy-question/

I've also used .... striped cow patty worms -- "waterbugs" (actually a specie of cockroach) -- grasshoppers -- potato bug larvae -- and the green river worms. All were found, never purchased. Never purchased nightcrawlers, either, as they were plentiful in the yard of my grandparents home. They also had a "cement pond" behind the garage, where they kept minnows. It was probably 10' long x 8' wide x 6' deep ... but, I don't know if they bought minnows & put them in it, or seined/trapped them & put them in it. I couldn't have been over 6-8 years old when it was still functional. I was about 10 years old when I went to live with them, and started going fishing with them on a regular basis.

Hunting & finding "free bait" and catching fish on them is akin to tying your own jigs or flies and catching fish on them ... especially when you're a kid, trying to be of "some use" and/or gaining the admiration of your parents/guardians.

... cp