Saltwater is really the only time I use live bait but a combo of Gulp swimming bait with a chunk of shrimp on the hook is the best of both worlds - more and better bites from live bait but still has the castability of plastics.
The downside is you will get more bites from smaller fish so in the typical KS pond or lake it means more sunfish will hit your 3” swimming shad if you have a chunk of nightcrawler on the tip of the hook.