Exactly.
My dad and I used to do a lot of limb lining on the rivers.
We have set line so shallow that their backs would be out of the water. When I first saw where he was putting them, I thought he was nuts! I remember one was actually in a riffle. It was near the bottom end but still only above ankle deep. This wasn't all lines, just some.
For channel, any bait will work. We always used one or two shiners wormed on per hook. Worked great and you could sein enough for a month in 5 minutes!