My fishing buddy Don and I quit using minnows for crappie YEARS ago. We push jigs. And have never had a problem catching fish.
It all depends on your style of fishing I guess.
I used minnows most of my life... before we started pushing jigs.

Dipping bait around fallen trees, stumps, etc. minnows might outfish jigs. But we have found a technique that works for us,
where we fish in Florida shallow water lakes, and save the money we were wasting on minnows. My freezer is always stocked with crappie year round too.
Tom