Definately use a ground bait and fish near the top of the water. Sometimes you need to pick up your livebaits elsewhere but give it a go where you are fishing. Piper, jack macks and smmall kahawai respond well to burley.

Thanks alot guys - will try some of the suggestions.

No idea where you would buy maggots try the Freshwater forum someone there will know. Livies are often caught around rocks, headlands etc.

If you are keen on the maggots and aren't to fussy try producing your own.

Local knowledge is king for Livies. There are fantastic spots up where I fish and most people drive straight past them in a rush to get out into deeper water. Spend the time catching livies... there nearly always make the difference between good and great fishing, either as live baits or fresh dead baits. 

how do you put a live bait on a hook?

Sorry I dont have a pic to show you. I'll try and explain. Hooks can be straight shanked or kirbed. A kirb is where the point of the hook bends one way or the other from the shank. Grab a hook and have a look - chances are unless it's a lure hook it will be kirbed.

Anyway back to the live bait. You can insert the hook just in front of the dorsal fin, dont hook it deeply you want plenty of the hook protruding and you dont want to kill the livey. If you lie the hook down towards the tail of the point of the hook will either curve in toward the live bait which you dont want or curve away from the bait exposing the point which you do want. It is the kirb of the hook that is responsible for that, if it curves in toward the bait you need to put the hook through from the other side. By putting the hook through at an angle towards the head of the bait it will further expose the point of the hook making a hook up more likely. There are other ways but with pics its all a little hard to explain.

NZ_Nitro wrote: how do you put a live bait on a hook?