I use 30 to 65 lb braids on my jugs. I still have large fish pull the jugs down and I lose them. They'll generally turn up in a day or two as the fish will get down in the rocks and eventually sever the line.
I put about 10-12 feet of line on each with a 1/2 to 1 oz. sinker on the bottom with a #6 circle hook. This way I can let out all the line and (usually) it will float down the river without getting hung on the rocks on the bottom. Unless they get swung too close to the shore on the outside bends of the river.
I have my best luck using about a 3/4 inch square chunk of skipjack for bait. I just catch a few in the boils, then go fishing.
I like the river for fishing as it moves the jugs along in a kinda orderly fashion. I string them across the river so as to cover as much of the width as I can.
Of course when a barge comes through, it can be panic city trying to get them out of harms way.
And now, after having read the regs a LOT more thoroughly, I realize I can't fish within 100 yds of a creek mouth and I have to be 1000 yds below the dam. That cuts out some fairly productive waters.
One other item I just noticed...... Sport anglers are limited to 50 jugs or blocks and each with only one hook. Didn't know about the one hook per jug. Now I do. I never throw out more than ten jugs as it gets to be too "busy", trying to keep tabs on them in the river.
I guess it pays to read EVERYTHING you can about whatever fishing you intend to do BEFORE you do it. Had I been checked, I believe I could have had to pay some fines for violations I didn't even realize I was making. Thankfully, I won't be looking at wasting money on fines that can be better spent on gas and/or fishing gear.
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