Jug Reports?

[rsimms]

I'm goin' jug fishing below Chickamauga tonight. Anybody been lately?

 

[DHaun]

Good luck - I'm sittin home smokin some chickens myself - Looks like a great night for fishing! Please let us know how it goes.

 

[rsimms]

We're home... we drifted the jugs about an hour or so before they shut generators off at 11. Caught eight (8), biggest was 23 pounds. Then started throwing bluegill below the dam. Caught ten fish or so... all between 15 and 25 lbs. Will post a pic or two tomorrow. Right now I'm goin' beddy-bye.

 

[rsimms]

Here's a couple of photos... top photo, me with a fish on the jug... Other shot is Ross Malone with his biggest catfish to-date on rod & reel.
<img src=http://www.chattanooga.net/outdoors/graphics/DSCF0833copy.jpg border=5>

<img src=http://www.chattanooga.net/outdoors/graphics/DSCF0834copy.jpg border=5>

 

[DHaun]

Way to go!!! Now that's the way to spend a Friday night. How many jugs can each person put out? Do you use swimming noodles and reflective tape? I have a spot light - What other equipment would be mandatory for a beginner? Whats the best thing to hook the jugs with?

I am thinking about making some jugs with the kids using coat hangers and swimming noodles - Hopefully I'll be out there soon myself! I might just snag me a boat at Nichols Marine July 4 sale. I saw a G3 18 footer with a 90 Yamaha 4-stroke I think I'm gonna have to get if the financing is right b/c the price certainly is - I just left them a message and sent an email telling them I want it. emoCool

 

[rsimms]

I have a few noodles. Just tie line around one end of noodle so it stands up. I made mistake of tying them in the middle first time and unless it's a big fish, you can't tell there's one on. HOWEVER, must of my juggin' arsenal is made up of one-quart motor oil jugs. (see photo) Just stop by quick-change oil places and ask to dig through their garbage and you can round up several dozen in no time. And they pack great in a milk crate. May not seem like it, but a one-quart jug is plenty big enough... handled that the 23-pounder with no problem. I will admit that I'll sometimes lose a jug or two, and I fear it might be one of those 40-pound-plus fish that made off with my motor oil jug, but that's the exception to the rule. You can just tie the cord around neck below the lid, wrap cord around neck of bottle and stick point of hook into plastic lid for easy storage. I spray paint them with flourescent paint... makes a HUGE difference. One other benefit over noddles.... noddles are greatly affected by the wind. If you've got a stiff breeze or wind, noodles get blown around and won't drift quite right. The one-quart jugs are a little heavier and real low profile .... not affected much by the wind. I THNK you're allowed 50 per person... but I'd never use that many. 25 or 30 (total) is plenty for me to try and keep up with. I guess it would be easy to use more on the lake, but I almost always drift the river with current. Fifty-plus jugs would be way too hard to keep up with drifting the river. You do have to have your name and address on each one. Permanent magic marker works fine on one-quart jugs.

 

[DHaun]

Thanks for the great advice! I will most likely be dumpster divin' at my local valvoline in the near future.

 

[fishaholic]

Hey, this is will here and i was wondering if there was a limit to how many jugs you could put out at one time per person? And, I was also wondering how long do you need to wait before you go and check your jugs? Do you have any other advice for a starter?

Thanks tons! emoThumbsup


|will|

 

[rsimms]

OK, I checked the fishing guide... you are limited to 50 jugs per licensed angler. As noted earlier, I'd never actually put out 50. It's too many to keep up with the way I jug fish. I drift jugs on the river so I stay with them constantly. I turn the the spotlight about once every five minutes or so to :count heads" and see if I see any of them bouncing. If you get one of those nights when fish are really hitting, you'll stay busy constantly. I guess if you're on the lake (no current, no wind) you could set them and leave them for an hour or two (the law says once per day, that's stupid). If you catch a good fish, he'll drag a jug a LONG way in a hurry. I've lost jugs/fish on the river when I'm spotlightin' them every five minutes. I prefer jug fishing below the dam... but don't when they are not generating. You'll be in for a slow night. Fish like current.

 

[sbrannon]

For what it's worth, I fish all swimming pool noodles. I tie them on one end just like Richard explained. I like the compactness of the noodles, as you can wrap the line around the noodle, and just jab the hook in the noodle. No tangles this way. I bait all my jugs/noodles with frozen shrimp that you can buy from Bi-Lo on the way to the river. My son and I only work a dozen at a time. It's constant work checking the noodles for stolen bait, and catching/releasing the fish. It's tons of fun. The best time I have found during summer is right before dark til the bite stops which seems to be around midnight or 1am.

 

[sogggysod]

i do the jugs made of noodles a coathanger with a swivel and a bell at the other end they really stand up and ring when you have a cat on,. they do blow around a bit though.
i mostly jug small lakes and ponds im curious how deep you jug when fishing the river current and if you throw them along shore or just toss em wherever?

 

[rsimms]

I usually drift them in the main channel... and most jugs have only 6-to-8 feet of line. I might have a couple with 12-feet. I only jugfish at night with generators running... working the principal that the water cools some at night and they'll feed shallow. Generally have great success.