It's has been a few years since I've gone jug fishing, but I do understand how much fun it is.
However, when I used to go jugging, if I set out 25 jugs, I
left with 25 jugs when I was done. I didn't set out more jugs than I could reasonably keep track of, and I didn't leave them unattended for unreasonably long periods of time where fish could swim off to parts unknown with my jugs.
I've been fishing Old Hickory a lot this month, and the amount of abandoned jugs has driven me absolutely crazy. I have picked up and trashed one or two every time I've gone out.
Today, I came across a jug tangled around a limb with a fish (about a 3 lb blue cat) still attached on the other end. The fish had clearly been trapped on the line for quite a while - the wound from the hook was all infected, he had lost one eye on the side where the hook was, and his fins were shredded. Whoever lost that jug was using stainless steel hooks, so that fish would have died before the hook ever rusted out. He was in rough shape when I unhooked him, but he swam away okay, so hopefully he will survive. Starving to death on the end of a jug line wrapped around a tree limb would be an awful way to die. I have freed other fish and turtles from abandoned jugs in the past.
The upper end of Old Hickory where I've been fishing is just littered with old swimming pool noodles that have been made into jug lines and then lost. Jug fishing is a great way to catch a mess of catfish for a fish fry, but pick up after yourselves. I'm tired of cleaning up after you.
bd