cats kind of plow through the water and drown quickly
rats are ok but mice are too small, they are ok for bass thrown over Lilly pads
I hear that muskrats are the best, but I have not been able to catch any to use them
you must remember to use elastic bands to hold the hooks rather then hooking through the skin, they wiggle real well if skin hooked but die quickly or rip the skin and get away
cats you can hook on their collar if they have one, make sure you have a trailer treble hook for short biters
small dogs may be best of all, but it's too easy to get attached to them, long haired dogs work well
Chihuahua are the perfect size and the constant barking/yapping some people believe draws the muskie in from great distances, I have not been lucky with them myself