i used squid which was getting just as many if not more bites as the shrimp that others were using. i have used those little worms before but only had a couple of them and they got solen by the little fish. it is crazy that they live birth just like guppies. i was down at shilshoe once when they had come in and there were hundreds of the little babies, i caught and released tones of them on a size 16 hook