Quick strike rigs are mostly used for dead bait, but I have used them before with live. I tie up my own for the live bait though. I use heavy braid line and smaller treble hooks to do so. If you are using larger minnows on the tip-ups, the smaller hooks and braided line seems to allow the minnow to still move around. Try a size 8 for the front hook and 10 for the back. But this is only for larger minnows, like 8 inch suckers or goldens. I also catch smelt from a near by lake and they work great for the 8-10 inch smelt. Wont work too well with a 4 inch shiner.