Although jug fishing for catfish is not a particularly specialized activity, you will benefit from following the advice of someone who has been honing his jug fishing techniques for the past seven or eight years.
Because of baits that kept dragging the bottom, bait that was pulled to the surface, and boats that were overloaded with milk jugs, Mike Lantz had to modify his homemade jugs over time.
Lantz said, “I read about making jugs out of PVC pipe a while back. I sat down and made some as I had read about, but as I continued to learn, I changed a few minor details in my own jugs. ”.
Now Lantz builds what he believes to be the ideal fishing jug, using only a pool noodle, PVC pipe, PVC end caps, eye bolts, nylon string, a circle hook, and a split shot.
• Pool noodles — During the summer, Lantz purchases the noodles from almost any store that carries swimming accessories. He has continued to use yellow over time due to their visibility in light chop. He cuts his pool noodles into 10-inch long sections.
• PVC pipe — Lantz discovered that 3/4-inch PVC pipe perfectly fits in the readily available pool noodles that are sold in most stores. A 10-foot section is purchased, and he cuts it into 12-inch pieces.
• PVC caps — Lantz uses caps on each end of his PVC pipe to help keep the pool noodle firmly attached to the pipe, even though his jugs function without them.
• Eye bolt — Any small eye bolt will do as long as it has some good thread on it and a hole big enough to thread a line through. In order to attach the bolt, Lantz drills a tiny pilot hole into one of the PVC caps.
He claimed that even though he’s never lost a fish because an eye bolt came loose, if you’re unsure, secure it with some Loctite or Super Glue.
• Nylon string — Lantz claims that color is irrelevant. Simple bowline knot is used to secure one end of a piece of 2 1/2 to 3 foot long regular nylon string to the eye bolt on the PVC end cap. In the event that he gets hung, he prefers to use lighter string.
• 6/0 circle sea hook — Lantz claimed to have caught catfish on these hooks as small as half a pound and as large as 25 pounds. He prefers the bigger hook because it can withstand the pressure of a large catfish without harming smaller fish.
• 1/16-ounce split shot: When the wind or current starts to move a jug quickly across the surface, adding this small weight to the line a few inches above the hook helps keep the bait down in the water.
There are numerous baits that will draw catfish, but Lantz has chosen cut bait because he has discovered it stays on his hooks better and the smell draws the blue cats and channel cats he is after. Anglers after flathead catfish should stick with live bream.
Step 9: Here’s How the Spool Works…
The spool will spin freely once the main line has been removed from the keeper hook. When fishing with this rig, you must secure the main line, so you do so by inserting it into the keeper hook as shown in picture 2. It really doesn’t matter if you fasten the keeper hook if you want to add a little extra security. The keeper hook rotates up when the line is slightly pulled until it rests against the end cap, where it is immobile (Figure 3). This locks the assembly, preventing the release of another line. When the rig is ready to be deployed, I keep my index finger on the spool to regulate how quickly the line pays out as the weight descends to the lake’s bottom.
Step 7: Add the Main Line
The main line is #12 twisted nylon twine. One thing to keep in mind with nylon twine is to burn the ends shut after cutting it to prevent unraveling. Every five feet, I tie a 3/0 barrel swivel, and at the end, I tie a 3/0 snap swivel. Overall length is around 30 feet. merely a matter of how far you want to be able to fish The 2 pound weight can be removed using the snap swivel for simpler storage. You tie a loop on the end of the main line and slide it over the spool as shown to attach the main line to the spool. The line is wound clockwise around the spool. This is important as will be shown later. The process of making the noodles is complete once you have wound every piece of line onto the spool.
Step 1: Assembling the Noodle
Here are all the components needed to assemble a catfish noodle for reference.
FAQ
How do you make noodle jugs for fishing?
Depending on the depth, lines are cut to lengths between 5 and 10 feet. Each line is tied snuggly around the bottle’s neck. On the line’s opposite end, a 2/0 hook is tied.
How do you rig a noodle for fishing?
The noodles are 3. A 1-inch hole runs through the middle of the 25-inch-diameter noodle. Although it varies slightly, it is roughly 51 inches long.
