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The way I liveline bait depends on what bait I'm using.
If you are talking about bunker, just throw out a snagger, rip it through the school, and once you snag one, just let your bunker swim around. If there are blues around, they will take off the tail fast. If you don't hook up with a blue, the bunker will flutter to the bottom where a bass might just pick it off. Bass typically hide underneath and let the blues do the work for them.
For peanut bunker, put a snap on the line. On the snap put a 3/0 treble hook. Cast it out there, snag a peanut, reel it in, replace the treble with a single 2/0 or 3/0 hook, throw it back into the school. The reason why I like the single hook with the peanuts is, you are likely to hook up with smaller fish. If you used a treble, it can be quite a task to get it out of a smaller fishes mouth.
For shad, put a single hook through the nose. Bluefish shouldn't be around yet to harass the shad so you are really just targeting bass. That being the case, bass will swallow a shad head first. Even if a smaller bass just hits a shad for territoral reasons, they will still have the hook in them. I'm sure this will work just as well for alewives or herring. The other reason why I like them through the nose is because these herring family fish tend to be fragile. Through the nose allows you to reel the bait in and that will keep it head first like the way it swims. It will pass oxygen through the gills.
For snappers, bluefish will be around so I hook them through the back, right behind the dorsal fin.
Sandworms are easy. Fishfinder rig.
If I have a choice for live bait, it's a single hook. The only bait I don't use a single hook for is the large bunker because they are impossible to cast. Treble hooks can reduce the action I think.
Good luck.
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