John,
I have found the same thing. I catch CC in my pond best on GSH and small SF. Problem I have is that the other predators, like SMB, eat the same things and I end up with gut hooked fish I don't want to harvest. Any magic bait that only CC will hit? I've caught CC on stink bait, crawlers, cut bait, etc. but not near as many as on live bait fish.
Try using circle hooks. They should help reduce accidental mortality of non-target species.
