Jug Fishermen! Pick Up Your Jugs!!!

[bd-]

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

Originally Posted by bd-

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

I agree, I used to jug all the time...Hence the name. But I would set my jugs in a cove and stay with them until I was ready to go home and then pick them all back up.

[bd-]

That's how I always did it too. If I was going to leave lines overnight, I would set a trotline or limblines instead of jugs. Of course there are plenty of those abandoned on Old Hickory too!

There is some guy who puts out a hundred or more jugs at a time up in Barton's and leaves them overnight. When he's fishing, I will have to dodge sets of jugs all the way from the back of the creek to the mouth. He always manages to lose half a dozen or so. I keep saying that one of these days I'm going to stick around and see who picks up the jugs so I can say something, but I probably never will.

bd

[browntrout]

Originally Posted by bd-

That's how I always did it too. If I was going to leave lines overnight, I would set a trotline or limblines instead of jugs. Of course there are plenty of those abandoned on Old Hickory too!

There is some guy who puts out a hundred or more jugs at a time up in Barton's and leaves them overnight. When he's fishing, I will have to dodge sets of jugs all the way from the back of the creek to the mouth. He always manages to lose half a dozen or so. I keep saying that one of these days I'm going to stick around and see who picks up the jugs so I can say something, but I probably never will.

bd

I think they are supposed to be clearly marked with your name and address on every jug. If that is the case when you find a bunch of them and they aren't marked call the TWRA. They should want to stop it.

Roy

[lforet2002]

Originally Posted by browntrout

I think they are supposed to be clearly marked with your name and address on every jug. If that is the case when you find a bunch of them and they aren't marked call the TWRA. They should want to stop it.

Roy

Actually they supposed to have your TWRA license #..I would not put my personal info like my name and address on it and if that was the case I would not jug fish..Anyways, all my jugs are marked with my TWRA # and I have yet to lose a jug in the 7 years of fishing here in TN..Like jugger I do not leave my jugs unattended..

[j19bill]

Its not just jug fishermen its everyone needs to pick up their trash. I wade fish way down stream from nice mill and it makes me sick seeing all the trash while walking back. I try to pick up enough to fill up a plastic grocery sack on the way back.

[agelesssone]

I have lost two jug/noodles this year due to large fish taking them under and not resurfacing. One I found the next day, 1/2 mile upstream (river fishing) with the line severed, apparently from being scraped on rocks, apparent from the frayed end of the line. The other was returned to me by another fisherman who said he found it a mile downstream from where I last saw it. The line was frayed like the other one. (I do put my information on the jugs. I don't think anyone is going to find the address and come and try to rob/murder me. Of course, if they do, then the consequences rest on their shoulders.)


I use a 30lb braid and both were rock frayed cuts. I have since doubled the size of the noodles and haven't had any more stay under for more than 30 minutes. I only release 8-10 at a time and float the river with them, keeping them all in sight so I know fairly quickly if one is missing, as I do a constant count......and I only jug in the daylight.

I too have found a number of jugs on JPP while crappie fishing there. Some have the information, some don't. I have called people who have lost jugs and they say just throw them away.

One fellow came to my boat asking if I had seen any jugs as he had lost his from the night before. I hadn't then, but an hour later and two bays away, I found (possibly) his jugs, but no name or TWRA # on them. I'm wondering if he just forgot where he dropped them. I checked each one and they had no fish and no bait so I just stuck the hook in the foam and left them, hoping he might find them later.

[browntrout]

Originally Posted by j19bill

Its not just jug fishermen its everyone needs to pick up their trash. I wade fish way down stream from nice mill and it makes me sick seeing all the trash while walking back. I try to pick up enough to fill up a plastic grocery sack on the way back.

Can I get an AMEN?.........AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN AMEN!!!!!!!

[Doc Marshall]

Could we extend this APB to include bank fishermen? I was on Priest yesterday and I couldn't believe the sheer volume of blue plastic worm containers, Big Gulp cups, wrappers etc. littering the shores. I even saw a guy fling a plastic grocery bag of trash over his shoulder into the woods - in mid-sentence. What the hell?

There was plenty of plastic trash floating in the water too, which obviously could have come from boaters. The weirdest thing I saw was an oven mitt(!) bobbing by my kayak. I know all lakes have trash but JPP is one of the worst I've ever seen. I try to pick up what I can.

Personally I find the site of jugs on any lake to be a blight on my idealistic vision of the Great Outdoors, but I do understand it's a legal form of fishing. But yeah -- leaving jugs unattended is both a trash problem and an issue of angler ethics.

[StriperFun]

The JPP trash floating was due to rising water ... happens every year just not typically this late .. I agree we can all do better picking up our trash ... I think many items simply blow out of boats, settle to the bank and we don't see it until the water comes up ... kinda makes you sick

[katscurt]

I have to comment on this thread. I fish PP all the time. There are a few things that really bother me there. Mainly the trash on the banks. It amazes me how people can just leave their trash sitting on the ground, and walk away. One would think, they brought it down there in some sort of bag, one would think it would be just as easy to put the trash BACK in the bag when you leave. So sad.
While im at it, I am all for what ever people enjoy doing on the water. Skiing, jet skiing, tubing, whatever. Thats why we are all there, for fun. But I must admit, I get somewhat agrivated when its almost dark and im running in the channel, then all of a sudden, I start having to dodge a 100 jugs. In the channel ? Really? Dont get me wrong, im all for any kind of fishing. If thats what you like doing. But show a little consideration for other boaters. Dont put them in the channels where the boats have to run.

[tnridgerunner]

This is a great way to help. Take a day off from fishing and chip in.

http://nashvilleh2o.org/

Good people undoing the mess the slobs among us have created.

[titansfan2104]

Originally Posted by tnridgerunner

This is a great way to help. Take a day off from fishing and chip in.

http://nashvilleh2o.org/

Good people undoing the mess the slobs among us have created.

Good idea but I barely have enough time to fish much less any extra!!!
Hey ridge runner, your right down the road from me if the lancaster you have listed is in smith county!!

[thehick176]

I was fishing a little upriver from the steam plant on sunday and someone had tied limblines on just about every over hanging limb for a couple hundred yard stretch of bank. Generally i'm not bothered by that, but, a little further down there was a Blue Heron with one of the hooks in its mouth and the line wrapped around a wing. The line had been cut from the tree and whoever it was just let the bird go like that! Every time i would get close it would walk back up into the woods.
If your gonna take the time to cut the bird loose, wouldn't you try and free the line from the bird so it could survive? Most normal people would!

[Alphahawk]

Originally Posted by thehick176

I was fishing a little upriver from the steam plant on sunday and someone had tied limblines on just about every over hanging limb for a couple hundred yard stretch of bank. Generally i'm not bothered by that, but, a little further down there was a Blue Heron with one of the hooks in its mouth and the line wrapped around a wing. The line had been cut from the tree and whoever it was just let the bird go like that! Every time i would get close it would walk back up into the woods.
If your gonna take the time to cut the bird loose, wouldn't you try and free the line from the bird so it could survive? Most normal people would!

When I go to some of my fishing spots I take trash bags to pick up as much trash as I can. But some places I could not even make a dent so I try to pick up the most dangerous stuff to wild life....fishing line. The Caney...Center Hill are not too bad. Pickwick is horrible....Nickajack is not as bad but it is bad enough. When my girl friend goes with me fishing she will spend sometimes all of her time out picking up trash. There is so much of it you just can't make a dent in it alone.


regards