Bait on the lake

I recently moved on to Lake Murray. I live near Sunset Cove which is back northeast of Goat Island. I am not very far from Lake Murray Marina or Johnson Marina, and for that matter it is not too far to run to the dam, especially now that the fish are in that area.

I just wanted to know my options for getting bait without leaving the lake? Before moving to the lake I would usually pickup bait from Better Bait or sometimes at whatever ramp we used. We also did most of our fishing in the fall and winter so we were up the lake.

We have always used herring but I know the heat makes it harder to keep them alive. Is anyone using shiners and if so where can you get them?

Last question. I know the fish are pretty deep right now. Is putting the herring down deep in the colder water not killing them right away?

Any kind of advise would be greatly appreciated from this rookie.
Thanks

I just posted this on the Any Info from Lake Murray This weekend thread.

"Hey Guys. Newbie here, to the board and sort of to stipers on LM.

How far down were you guys going between Spence and Goat? We have been trying w/ herring around 60-80 feet around the river bed, just off the towers, to no avail.

Going to try again tonite. Wish us luck…sorry Coach, we will be on a pontoon, but I can promise you we weren’t the schleps out there giving you a hard time.