Kahle Fish

Kahle Fish

What is the best combination of hook/line for FL Gulf fishing? Casting from a dock. Snook Redfish Snapper?

Been studying on my spare time. Looks like maybe a size 1/0 or 2/0 hooks. What type? Kahle...or O'shaugnessy? What brand? Looks like Eagle Claw is a good brand. I notice red-colored hooks. I might get red ones.

I have no idea what size of line.

What size/type of rod & reel do you recommend? I'm on a budget.

By the way, I have fished a hand-full of times on other people's gear lately. So I know the basics about fishing. We have been using live shrimp and sliced squid.

Thanks a lot.

Here's some options for catching bigger & better fish while fishing from a dock in Fla:

1. Instead of "bottom fishing", rig-up a 1/4-1/2 OZ "Chartreuse-colored" Jig with a live Mud-minnow or Live Shrimp.

Slowly, bump it along the bottom. This will "weed-out" the dinks and "trash fish" associated when using a bottom-rig. A Jig/Mud-minnow combo is deadly on Reds, Flounder & Spec Trout!

Variation: Instead of a Jig, rig-up a "Carolina Rig" with a 1/2 OZ barrel-weight and 18-20" Flurocarbon leader. Use a live Finger Mullet or Mud-minnow as bait. A 1/0-2/0 Gamakatsu Circle Hook works well with this rig. 12-14LB "Main Line" is FINE for most situations.

If I were you, I would have 2-3 rods fishing at once!

One with a popping cork with either a Live Shrimp or Live Finger Mullet and one rigged with either a Carolina set-up or a Jig.

Creek fishing 101: Cast out the floating-rig rod (with live shrimp, or Finger Mullet) and leave it in a rod-holder.And while you wait, be Jigging or Carolina rigging! If you get bored with Carolina or Jig, have a rod rigged for lures.

Lures: Lures work exceptionally well in fast tidal current because they can mimic natural bait fleeing through the tide. Colors?- Greens, Chartreuse, Redhead/White, Pink, White, natural Mullet, Pogey, are all good colors to use.

Berkley Saltwater Powerbait & Gulp works AS GOOD AS live bait in most cases, (These are soft plastic lures designed to be threaded on a 1/4-1/2 OZ Jighead or Offset Hook. My fav Gulp is a Jerkshad and an offset hook-

Jerkshad- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_75761____SearchResults

Gamakatsu Offset Hook- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_53661____SearchResults

Jerkshads work esp well for Snook, Reds & Trout. Even Mangrove Snapper like these...

Copper and Gold colored spoons can be very productive around oyster bars & structures! Make sure to use a 4" Curly-tailed Grub as a trailer on your spoon.

Spoon-http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_89224____SearchResults

Strike King and Booyah "saltwater" Spinnerbaits in 3/8-1/2 OZ work well too- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_59508____SearchResults

Make sure to "sweeten" all lures with some Pogey or Shrimp aerosal spray attractant- http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_72020____SearchResults

Throw all lures UP-current and retrieve WITH the tide!

A tip: BUY some CHUM! When you are stuck on a dock waiting for the fish to come to you, a nice CHUM-Slick will attract fish to your area and save you time. Either buy some already-made chum and "bait it up" OR buy some fish flavored "dry" Catfood / crush it up/ mix with some creek mud/ and create a barrier of "chum/mud balls" around your property & dock!

Do this at LOW Tide and by the time mid-tide arrives your dock will be the #1 "Hotspot" on your creek/canal.

Another tip- Most "Gamefish", (Snook, Redfish, Spec Trout, Flounder, Etc), PREFER live bait. You might occasionally catch a "good" fish using dead Shrimp or cut Squid on a bottom-rig but you will have 80% more luck floating some LIVE Shrimp, Mud-minnow, Mullet or using a lure.

Hope this helps ya?

Jug Fishing For Catfish

Jug Fishing History

Jug fishing for catfish is a form of setline fishing that has gained tremendous popularity over the past ten years or so. While many anglers still prefer the tried and true setline techniques of fishing with trotlines, limb lines, bank lines and yo-yo's there is a new breed of catfish angler that has emerged over the past ten years that prefers jug fishing over these other more traditional techniques of setline fishing.

Jug fishing has many "slang" terms that it is referred to which often confuses people. some other popular terms used to describe jug fishing are:

• Jugline Fishing
• Jug Line Fishing
• Juggin'
• Jugging
• Bottle Fishing
• Milk Jug Fishing

One of the appeals of jug fishing for catfish is the fact that there is a very low cost to get started with this form of fishing and it can be a very successful method of catfishing. Fishing with jugs instead of using more traditional lines (like trotlines) also offers increased flexibility which is part of the reason for the increased popularity.

For years, anglers would spend significant time setting trotlines and getting them placed and then would find that they were not catching catfish. The problem with this was then the time involved to pull up and move the trotline to a new location on the lake or river when it was not producing. The portability of jug fishing alleviates these issues.

Another reason for the popularity increase in jug fishing is the advancements made in the catfish jugs and commercially available juglines like those outlined in the making catfish jugs book. These "new breeds" of catfish jugs have revolutionized the world of jug fishing.

Jugging is a very easy way to get started catfishing and is an especially good technique for getting kids interested, as there is often non stop action and there is always something to do when juggin'.

 

Basic Techniques

The basic strategies behind jug fishing and very simple. Take a series of jugline rigs, set them out over an area of water baited with different baits and covering different depths and wait for some action.

Obviously this is a simplistic view of these technique but these are really the basics of getting started in the most simplistic terms possible.

Once the jugline rigs have been set for a while, you can collect the inactive ones that are not producing and move them to new locations and work towards increasing your effectiveness of catching fish. Once you determine that magic depth and structure that holds the target species of catfish then you will be very busy hauling in fish and baiting hooks on your other jugline rigs.

 

Building Catfish Jugs

Building a jug fishing rig can be a simple or advanced process. Some anglers choose a basic setup like a bleach bottle or coke bottle while others choose more advanced jugline rigs.

Once you have your choice of jugs established you should determine if you want to use a drifting jugline or anchored fishing jugs.

Drifting models typically involved a short piece of twine with a hook at the bottom and are meant to float across the water. Anchored models have a larger weight at the bottom (most often one pound) and are meant to stay in relatively the same location.

There are positives and negatives to both and if you are not sure which jugging rig you prefer or that will work best for you experiment with both and see what works best and then proceed with making more catfish jugs from there.

Once you have your jug and determined if you want anchored or drifting jugs you can proceed with rigging. This will require the following supplies:

• #18 Braided Nylon twine (main line for anchored setups only)
• #9 braided nylon twine ( leaders for drifting setups only)
• Hooks (like circle hooks or kahle hooks)
• Swivels (for anchored juglines)
• Split shot weights (for drifting models)
• 1 Lb weights (for anchored models)

Rigging the drifting jugs is as simple as cutting a piece of #9 twine 2-3 feet long (or loner if preferred). Tie one end to the jugline and the other end to a hook. Add a small split shot sinker a few inches above the hook and you are ready to start fishing.

The anchored setups are a bit more involved. Cut a length of #18 twine and attach one end to the catfish jugs and the opposite end to the one pound weight. Three feet above the weight attach a swivel using a cats paw knot and then add a leader of #9 twine about 12 inches long, then attach the hook.

Move up three more feet and add another swivel, hook and leader. Most anglers prefer to only use two hooks but some will use more. Adding additional hooks to the catfish jugs increases the risk of being hooked so anglers should exercise caution.

As with any form of fishing, you should research your state and local laws prior to jug fishing for catfish. There may be regulations governing the size, color or number of hooks when jug fishing for catfish. In addition jugging is illegal in some states.

 

About the Author

Chad Ferguson is a Texas based professional catfish guide that offers guided fishing trips on several lakes and rivers in North Texas. In addition, Chad also manufactures a catfish bait called Redneck's Catfish Bait Soap that is a popular catfish bait for jug fishing and trotlines. Chad also owns and operates a popular website where he offers catfishing tips and tricks to help other anglers learn to catch catfish. You can get more information at the Learn To Catch Catfish website http://www.learntocatchcatfish.com

Billy gets a few Fish Hooks

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