New Beggs City Lake, 7/12/2013

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Permalink Reply by John Sheehan on July 12, 2013 at 3:44pm

Great account of a productive multi fish technique day Allen ! What suggestions do you have as far as rigging pool noodle Jugs ?Got a pic of your set ups ? My nephew/God Son recently moved to a lake and wants to jug channel cats . How many 'jugs' can ya make out of one pool noodle? Got lots more questions regarding this .

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Permalink Reply by Allen Morgan on July 12, 2013 at 5:03pm

I'll have to get a pic of one of my rigs.

I make my setups out of the "magnum" pool noodles.  5' long.  Cut it into five 12" pieces.  I also go the extra measure of getting a 5' length of 3/4" Schedule 40 PVC.  Cut that into five 12" pieces.  CAREFULLY twist/slide the PVC into the section of pool noodle.  You have to be careful, as the PVC will slice right through the pool noodle if you get it going sideways.

I use the black tarred nylon line that you can get at Wally World, that's meant for use as Trotline material.  I cut a length, probably about 13' long.  Tie a loop in each end.  Make one a big one, probably a couple inches long.  The other loop can be rather small.  Run the small loop through the PVC.  Once it makes it out the other end, thread the large loop through the small loop, then pull ALL the line through that small loop, and cinch it down.  It won't stay tight, but you don't need it to, as it will tighten up when the fish starts pulling.

I like to measure down the line, and at about 10' down, close to the big loop, I'll double the line and tie another loop.  Measure up 2 1/2', and repeat.  I use these as connection points for the hooks.  I usually only run one hook per line, but I could run two.  Here in OK, it's legal to have as many as 5 hooks per jugline.

I'll put a size 5 swivel on each of the attachment point.  I just thread the loop through one end of the swivel, then pass the loop over the other end of the swivel, and pull it tight.  Basically, a loop-to-loop connection, but one end is line, the other end is a swivel.

For the hook, you can use whatever hook you like.  One of my jugs has a 3/0 circle hook, the rest all have size 2/0 (or is it 4/0, I can't remember?) Kahle hooks.  Cut a section of line, double it, and tie an overhand knot in it.  Thread it through the eye of the hook and pass the loop over the end of the hook.  Pull it tight.  Now, pass the other side of the loop through the other end of the swivel, and pass the hook through that part of the loop, pulling the hook shank and the remainder of the loop through as well.  Don't poke yourself!  Basically, I use loop-to-loop connections for everything.

Now, my rigs use the same size 18 tarred line that I use for the jugline itself.  However, most hook eyes aren't big enough for this stuff, unless you go up to size 7/0 or bigger, or use O'Shaggnessy (sp?) hooks.  You can probably get away with some braided Dacron line, which you can find in well-stocked catfish tackle shops anyway.  If you find yourself getting broken off at this point by bigger fish, you'll want to upgrade your rigs to bigger hooks and use the tarred line anyway.

For weight, I just pass the large loop at the bottom through the eye of a 2-oz bank sinker, pass that loop over the end of the sinker, and pull it tight.

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Permalink Reply by Allen Morgan on July 12, 2013 at 7:24pm

John, tell your nephew to read up on the laws concerning juglines in his State.  Laws vary from State to State; most States outlaw it completely.

In Texas, jugs have to be white.  Here in OK, we don't have a restriction on color.  Some of my jugs are green, most are pink.

If you run jugs at night, I would recommend wrapping the device with reflective automotive tape, so it will shine when you point a light at it.

Here's a shot of one of my jugs, with the line fully extended:

Here's one showing how the line is attached to the jug:

Here's a shot of how the hook and the weight are attached:

Lastly, here's a pic showing how I store my jugs:

Using the pool noodle is nice, because I can just stick the hook into the foam to secure it.  I also do that right over the line for the weight, as close to the weight as possible, as this will secure the weight as well.

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Permalink Reply by John Sheehan on July 13, 2013 at 6:55am

Thanks Allen and guess what ! It's not legal here in New Jersey .At least not according to this source : http://www.fishingnoodles.com/jug-fishing-laws Apparently in a community NJ lake it's going on to a degree .I need to make a phone call to see if this is   accurate info .It even states it's not necessarily totally accurate .

  BTW ,thanks for your lengthy reply filled with info .Glad I helped stimulate your archival desires!  Enjoy you're freedom to fish that way ! I may have to just catch Channels like I have been doing with Spinning gear and Hot dog chunks for bait .

Just called Fish and Game had to leave a message .Hope I get a call back and answer today.

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Permalink Reply by Allen Morgan on July 13, 2013 at 1:42pm

I just tried doing a quickie internet search for the regs for New Jersey (many States publish a .pdf with that year's fishing regs in it).  I didn't find anything, but, since this is NJ, I wouldn't be surprised if it's illegal.  Jug-fishing is more of a Southern thing, like trotlines, limblines, and noodling.

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Permalink Reply by David, aka, "McScruff" on July 13, 2013 at 5:30pm

Sadly, I cant jug fish on my Southern home lake, Lake Murray, SC.

As big as it is (56K acres), the boaters and homeowners around the shore have caused the activity to be forbidden. I suppose having jugs drifting around and getting in the way of weekend partying, boating and jet-skiing is enough to swing the law to their side.

Up the road, at Lake Greenwood, it is legal. Fewer people, less notice taken. So check your regs.

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Permalink Reply by Allen Morgan on July 13, 2013 at 6:20pm

Both of my home lakes, Pretty Water and Sahoma, are "city lakes", owned and operated by the city I live in.  Jugs, trotlines, and limblines are forbidden.  The lake that I was jump-fishing for LMBs at the past couple of weeks, Bixhoma, is also a "city" lake, and jugs, trots, and limblines are not allowed.

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Permalink Reply by David, aka, "McScruff" on July 13, 2013 at 6:28pm

I know some good back water areas where I could probably get away with using jug floats. If I stayed with them and fished nearby as you do, things would probably be fine.
I'm in the market for another kayak, a larger one. Once I get it, who knows?

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Permalink Reply by David, aka, "McScruff" on July 12, 2013 at 6:47pm

Great stuff Allen!

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