2/27/2008
 

Try Juggin’ For A Different Yet Productive Style of Fishing

LITTLE ROCK – For a different type of fishing that just might put plenty of good eating on your table, consider jug fishing.

Yes, it’s a style that’s old as the Arkansas hills, and it largely has been lost in the wake of 200-horsepower bass boats and sophisticated gear of all types. But a simple discarded plastic bottle with line attached and hook and bait at the end can serve you well on lakes, ponds and rivers.

There are some specific rules on jug fishing. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission regulations refer to “free-floating fishing devices” and limit an angler to a maximum of 20 jugs in the water at one time. Each must have name and address or diver’s license number or vehicle license number.

In bygone times, glass gallon bottles were commonly used. Then gallon plastic milk jugs took over. Today the common fishing jug is a two-liter drink bottle, but any sort of sturdy plastic jug will work. Laundry detergent containers fit the bill.

With a drink bottle, you tie a length of fairly heavy line securely to the neck. How long? How deep do you want to fish? Most juggers go after catfish, so a large hook is commonly used, and this is baited with a live minnow, prepared bait, chunk of liver or most anything else you normally use for catfish work.

One or two split shot on the line above the hook will keep the bait down where you want it. Some jug fishermen also put something inside the jug for weight – a handful of sand or gravel works. This helps keep the floating jug close at hand and not subject to wisps of wind.

The line is usually wrapped around the jug and held in place by a rubber band for storage and for transporting. The identifications can be written on the jug with a permanent marker.

In use, an angler loads jugs in a boat and moves upwind of where the fish should be. The jugs with baited hooks are dropped into the water at intervals of a few feet, then the fisherman waits and watches.

A distinctly bobbing jug is the sign of a fish on the hook. Often a catfish will take the bait and swim off a ways, so a moving jug is also a sign of a fish with the bait. But don’t hurry to grab that moving jug. Let it stop then pick it up, just as you let a catfish take a hook on a pole or rod line, run, stop, then set the hook.

Jug fishermen often paint their jugs to make them more visible or put a strip of reflective tape on them. This is why some prefer the white or colored plastic containers of laundry products to the clear plastic drink bottles. Another way of improving visibility is to pour a few drops of bright paint inside a jug, screw the cap on and give it a vigorous shake. Take the cap off to let the paint dry.

Windy days aren’t the best for jug fishing. Neither is a river with a strong current. Both lead to the fisherman spending excessive time chasing jugs instead of relaxing and enjoying a slow-paced outing.

Jug fishing doesn’t have to be limited to catfish. Use crappie-type hooks and smaller minnows, and you may come up with a good bunch of crappie or perhaps a bass or two. Of course, if a husky catfish grabs that small hook, you may find a broken off or straightened hook and no fish.

But that’s one of the attractions of jug fishing. Investment in equipment is definitely low end.