# How yall make jugs for cat fishing ?



## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

So im making some jugs for LL. Any one has a better way to make jugs than this you tube clip. Really i've never jug fish before so i got a bunch of milk jugs,clip about 4 hooks to the end of 60 feet of line. My question is do you add weight to it or just let it float freely? single hooks or multiple hooks?


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## whsalum (Mar 4, 2013)

I can't compete with the video LOL. I cut a piece of 1/2 inch PVC 5" long and a piece of swimming pool noodle 6"long. I drill a small hole thru the PVC 1" from the end, insert a short piece of ground wire thru the hole and bend down parallel with the pipe. Tape the ends of the grd wire to the PVC and push the pipe into the hole in the noodle. I tie 2 feet of 40lb mono to the grd wire and a 1/2 oz sinker and 2/0 kahle hook. If you drill your hole 1" from the end and tie your line at that end the noodle stands straight up when you get a blue cat. I usually fish 25 if alone and 50 if my boys are with me. I make them a little longer if I go to Rayburn but a short one works wonders for me on Livingston. Good Luck.


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

I dont get it whsalum. Only 2 feet of main line. Dont you want the bait to keep contact with the bottom at all times?How deep a water are you dropping these jugs? Can 2/0 hooks handle a 15-20 pound cats. So single hook is better?


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## Mattsfishin (Aug 23, 2009)

I don't use jugs a lot but when I do this time of year I use water bottles like the ones from Ozarka. Length of line is almost as wide as I can spread my arms. 1 hook on the bottom and one hook about a foot above the bottom hook. No weight. I paint the bottles with spray paint or you can pour some paint inside them and let dry. Before I painted the outside of them I glue a piece of foam insulation to attach the hook when putting jugs away for the trip home. Also make sure you write the proper info on each one.


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## KingTut (May 19, 2005)

I was completely distracted during the first few minutes of the video! But on a more serious note; Come warm weather blue cats always hit the top hooks on my jugs. That's only about two or three feet below the surface.


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## Bankin' On It (Feb 14, 2013)

Also Bruce, I think you are only allowed 3 hooks per jug


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## brucevannguyen (Oct 21, 2012)

Bankin' On It said:


> Also Bruce, I think you are only allowed 3 hooks per jug


Ok guys Thanks!!! I will give it a try next time I hit LL since its bulk heads time. I gues the cats are shallow during the morning and evening time and shads are a plenty. Give yall a report next time I hit LL. Thanks Matt I will make use of all them water bottles I throw away from now on.

One more question how many jugs or bottle can one is allowed to have on a boat ?


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## Red3Fish (Jun 4, 2004)

We fish L Palestine, and just for fun put out about 4 anchored jugs while we do "other" fishing. We use 1 gal clorox jugs, ~20' of line and anchor with a brick with the holes in it. 4 hooks 3' apart....from bottom up. Unless it changed, I think you can have 5 hooks. Will have to double check that. 

Some days we do quite well with them. 45# is the biggest, anything over 10# is released. Kind of like a kid opening presents on Christmas morning, when you start pulling in and feel that big TUG"! LOL


Later
R3F


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

Bruce, you may be like me and many others and used to think cats are just bottom feeders; that isn't true. I have come to realize they are game fish and move around and also up and down in the water column.


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## Sunbeam (Feb 24, 2009)

You can spend a lot of time and money making floating jugs with pvc pipe and noodles.
Or you can go to http://www.bottlesolutions.com/ and buy a case of 24 pvc 1 liter bottle for less than $1.00 each.
They are bright white, easy to write name and address on, easy to store in a bucket and work just as good as the $4.00 noodle floats.
A four foot piece of #36 black tarred line, any thing about an once for a weight with a 6/0 circle hook on the end.
Two dozen jugs baited with almost anything strung out along Memorial Point, old 190 or the dam riprap will keep you and the kids very busy this time of year.
Nothing like chasing down a racing jug not knowing if it is a whooper or just a fryer.
BTW The caps for the bottles are seperate. Pick the plain one with a seal.


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## Cathunter (Apr 8, 2015)

I use anything with a handle to tie to and put anywhere between 15-40 feet of trot line string on em with 5 #7 circle hooks at different depths and just take a 20oz soda bottle fill it with sand and there is your weight.


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

*Jugs*



Bankin' On It said:


> Also Bruce, I think you are only allowed 3 hooks per jug


You are allowed up to five hooks. I use 5/0 Circle hooks on anchored jugs on edge of river channel. Make sure you use swivels or the fish can twist off. On my drifting jugs I have about 10' of line wrapped up on pool noodle flagging jugs. I adjust depth by half -hitching the line at whatever depth I want. I usually try a few at different depths until I find a sweet spot. I set back and watch with bino's and catfish rod out. When I see a few flagging and running around I go pick those up and re-bait.


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## Bankin' On It (Feb 14, 2013)

Fishin' Soldier said:


> You are allowed up to five hooks. I use 5/0 Circle hooks on anchored jugs on edge of river channel. Make sure you use swivels or the fish can twist off. On my drifting jugs I have about 10' of line wrapped up on pool noodle flagging jugs. I adjust depth by half -hitching the line at whatever depth I want. I usually try a few at different depths until I find a sweet spot. I set back and watch with bino's and catfish rod out. When I see a few flagging and running around I go pick those up and re-bait.


You mean I've been jugging at 60% capacity all this time?!

DAGNABIT!


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## markbrumbaugh (Jul 13, 2010)

*Looks like it's important to use milk jugs*

No text


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## BrandonH (Oct 15, 2006)

Fishin' Soldier said:


> You are allowed up to five hooks. I use 5/0 Circle hooks on anchored jugs on edge of river channel. Make sure you use swivels or the fish can twist off. On my drifting jugs I have about 10' of line wrapped up on pool noodle flagging jugs. I adjust depth by half -hitching the line at whatever depth I want. I usually try a few at different depths until I find a sweet spot. I set back and watch with bino's and catfish rod out. When I see a few flagging and running around I go pick those up and re-bait.


This is exactly how I rig the line on mine. It's nice having the ability to go from 2' to 20+' in a few seconds.


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## whsalum (Mar 4, 2013)

Bruce I commercial fished the north end of Livingston back in the mid 70's and learned the closer I could get to the surface the more blue cat I caught. I would tight line the woods in the mouth of Caney and stretch my lead lines ABOVE the water with only the stagin in the water. My trot lines were pulled to where a boat could idle across them without cutting them and no deeper. I have caught fish up to 89lbs on the 2/0 and 3/0 hooks. My biggest blue on these 6" noodles last year was 28lbs. I like the noodle vs the bottle because I can roll 25 up neatly and store them in a crawfish sack. You are legally allowed 100 hooks but I can't keep up with that many any longer. I'll post a couple of pics later to show ya what mine look like.


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## whsalum (Mar 4, 2013)

I dug around and found the LONGEST one I own. If you want to go shorter on these you roll the line up tight in the "V" and throw a quick half hitch. It comes out of the mono without a kink. You can tell by the dates I fish these rigs pretty often.


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## Bankin' On It (Feb 14, 2013)

Whsalum, I think the bigger question at this point is...Did David Sheffield win the election?


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## whsalum (Mar 4, 2013)

LMAO= Absolutely but more importantly, I got a free ruler out of the race


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## Crappiegill (Apr 6, 2015)

Use two hooks till you get experience cause you can hurt yourself otherwise


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## SwampRat (Jul 30, 2004)

I made some flagging jugs with PVC, rebar and pool noodles. They've worked great.

Features/thoughts:

- The flagging feature to me is unnecessary for our style of fishing. I'm going to check the hooks for bait anyways, so it doesn't matter.

- We fish at night and so I set them vertically to begin with. Seeing a jug ~1/2mi away is very nice versus having to find it while it is laying down...hidden between waves.

- I also used high-reflective red/white tape on the upper part of jug (bought from Tractor Supply or O-Reilly's). It's expensive but can been seen for a long ways. 

- My main lines are heavy, tarred. ~ half my jugs are 10' and other half are ~35'.

- The 10' lines are weighted with 3/4" nuts.

- The 35' line weights (1lb handweights from Academy) have a shot length of line ending with a wire 'clip' that fits into the swivel loop. Easy on/easy off.

- The 35' lines can easily be adjusted to any lesser depth with a simple half hitch.

- On my main lines I have permanent barrel swivels (heavy duty) to attach the anchor weight (35') and hook stagings.

- The swivels are free to slide up/down the main line about 6" and are held through oysterman knots.

- The 10' lines have three swivels: ~1' from bottom, one 1' below jug and one in middle of the two.

- The 35' lines have same config at bottom and top as 10' lines, but also have more middle swivels...each ~5-6' apart.

- All stagings are lighter tarred line than main with circle hook one one end and 'wire' clip on other. Total length is ~6". A hooked fish can spin all it wants and still move up/down 6" with no problem.

- Stagings are great to remove wiggly fish. Simple push the clip and drop the fish and hook staging in the ice chest. Replace with pre-baited staging. Easily less than 10sec. This also helps to remove the rest of the jug line (i.e. more hooks) from the wiggly fish.

- It is great to be able to drive the boat and have the kids bait up the stagings and put in a bucket while riding out. Or have a bunch ready to go when checking lines.

- One drawback using stagings....At somepoint, you WILL hit a bump or dump the bucket over and all the nice organized stagings will be in a pile. Lesson...put weights in bottom of stagings bucket.

Good luck!


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## Fishin' Soldier (Dec 25, 2007)

My setups are similar to Swamprat's.

My flagging jugs I started out using re-bar. I have found that it is not necessary. When fish is on will stand up when they pull on it. Sometimes with heavy waves or boat traffic the jugs will flag with re-bar and no fish on it. I use one hook on my flagging jugs no weight. The weight of bait and hook makes it sink and look more natural.

My anchored jug set up is similar to swamp rat.
I space the hooks out evenly from about 1' off of bottom to 3' from surface. Make sure to take up as much slack out of the anchored jugs as possible. 

On my anchored jugs I have swivels places through out the line usually about 10 of them. I can change from 30' to 50' of water by choosing which swivels I want to attach to. Stagings are taken off as I pull in the jugs for safety reasons. Like Swamp, rebait with pre-baited stagings. Circle hooks help the safety factor as well. 5/0 circle hooks here too. 

When setting jugs I let the jug go out first so your aren't fighting the weight. When all is baited drop the weighted end down and that's that.


Swamp, take the bucket and put cut pool noodle around the top. Instead of looping hook over top, hook into the pool noodle. Will help when bucket gets tumped over.


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## BSchulte (Apr 21, 2014)

Call it overkill, but I cut a 16 inch piece of 4 inch pvc, capped at both ends. Prior to capping, I drill a hole in one cap and mount a 1/4" eye bolt or u bolt. In the other cap I drill two 1/8th inch holes, one centered and one offset, then seal the pvc together. Using the center hole, I fill the pvc with Great Stuff. The second hole acts as a vent. After filling, I take a landscaping flag, corkscrewed slightly, and insert into center hole. After the great stuff cures, shave excess clean and silicon both holes. I have jugs ranging from 10ft to 25ft long, 3 to five hooks on 12 inch stagings, 36 inch or more apart. With at least a 2 lbs weight on bottom.

Like I said, overkill. But I've caught big fish on them and they have high visibility even in rough water.


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