# Juggin' the Tallapoosa



## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

A doctor friend and his wife wanted me to take them fishing. The crappie bite has been iffy lately, and a little too early for shellcrackers, so I asked if they wanted to go jugging?

They had never heard of it, much less done it, so I figured it would be a good low-tech way to have some fun and come home with some fish. Game on!

The good doctor had lost an arm-long catfish while bream fishing with me a couple of years ago in a place we call Phoenix Slough. He wanted to start there, so we put out 10 jugs baited with redworms (2 hooks per jug). Nothing happened so we let them soak and put 10 more out in the next slough upriver.

Not squat. Not even a butterbean bream. Wifey-poo started running her mouth. "We've been tricked! Is this like snipe hunting?"

"Shut your pie-hole and start picking up these jugs!"

I decided to deploy all 20 jugs up in a creek where Codwrinkle and I have caught a few crappie, with the plan to let them lose all my crappie jigs while the jugs washed up in the bushes - maybe drink some beer to keep her mouth busy.

We put out maybe 8 jugs before the first one took off. I told them to let him go until we got all the jugs out. By the time we finished that task, we had three jugs dancing! For the next 2 hours, we were in constant action, running down jugs, dipping them up, re-baiting, and boxing fish. We had a regular assembly line going with the good doctor doing the hook-ectomys with a hemostat (roach clip to you, Chase). On three different occasions, we had two catfish on one jug.

Wifey-poo wanted to try for crappie before we left, so I let the doctor throw a jig at a treetop and he hooked up immediately. Another catfish! We ended the day with 40 cats, 3 shellcrackers, 1 crappie, 1 warmouth, several dink yellow perch, and a bald eagle fly-over.

I told them they can cross off jugging from their ******* Bucket List, and... Oh, they want to go again.


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## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

Nice box of fish. Juggin is the way to go. And it's about that time.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

What part of the 'poosa were you on?


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## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

That’s how you do it. 
Good box of fish there.


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## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

That’s how you do it. 
Good box of fish there.


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## sureicanfish (Sep 30, 2007)

Dang I wish we could jug/noodle in Florida. But I'm sure I'd find creative ways to strike out there too...


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## Murphy's Law (Sep 27, 2007)

Nice mess of fish !! Congrats on getting doc's loud mouth on some fish lol

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

NoMoSurf said:


> What part of the 'poosa were you on?


Yates Lake.


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## lees way2 (Oct 7, 2007)

Man them is great eating size. Good job


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Bodupp said:


> Yates Lake.


I've tried a couple of times up there to catch some perch. Of course with no success. LOL

I guess it helps if you know what you're doing and where you're going...


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

NoMoSurf said:


> I've tried a couple of times up there to catch some perch. Of course with no success. LOL
> 
> I guess it helps if you know what you're doing and where you're going...


I've never targeted the yellow perch, usually catching them while fishing for other things, but the larger ones I've encountered were around the islands near Martin Dam. I assume they're seeking the colder waters up that way. Minnows seem to get the larger ones.

If you're not familiar with the area around those islands, BE CAREFUL!


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

I'll say, they want to go again!!! I guess so...Heck of a nice trip and catch


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

sure said:


> Dang I wish we could jug/noodle in Florida. But I'm sure I'd find creative ways to strike out there too...


Ever try yoyo's? Standard fishing equipment for catfish, crappie, etc. in Arkansas. Still have several dozen of them. I've baited one, then go to the next, first yoyo would go off. Guy in the back of the boat would take the fish off.

We used to slay the catfish when I was in high school. Dad took my buddy and I over to Lake Des Arc on Friday afternoon and leave us for the weekend. One Sunday morning, he came to pick us up and fish for a while. We had 186 catfish we'd caught in two nights. Limit was 10 per person per day. Dad was not happy.  We cleaned catfish all afternoon. Ah, those were the days. Almost 50 years ago.


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

*Yo -Yos*

I have a dozen of those things, brand new, never used. There are so many people running bush hooks I figured any yo-yos I put out overnight would be stolen before I could get back to check them. Still want to do it though just to see how they work.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

Bodupp said:


> If you're not familiar with the area around those islands, BE CAREFUL!


That's why I stay outta there. LOL


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

Sea-r-cy said:


> Ever try yoyo's? Standard fishing equipment for catfish, crappie, etc. in Arkansas. Still have several dozen of them. I've baited one, then go to the next, first yoyo would go off. Guy in the back of the boat would take the fish off.
> 
> We used to slay the catfish when I was in high school. Dad took my buddy and I over to Lake Des Arc on Friday afternoon and leave us for the weekend. One Sunday morning, he came to pick us up and fish for a while. We had 186 catfish we'd caught in two nights. Limit was 10 per person per day. Dad was not happy.  We cleaned catfish all afternoon. Ah, those were the days. Almost 50 years ago.


We do really well on them when we fish in LA, but they’re illegal to use in Florida, also, you need to run them and not leave them like limb lines, the fish will eventually tire out and come to the surface and die, not good if it’s warm.


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

Was not aware they are illegal in Florida. Will have to look that one up. Thanks for the info.


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

Well you put'em on the fish and a good time ! Nice box of fish.


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

DLo said:


> , but they’re illegal to use in Florida, also, you need to run them and not leave them like limb lines, the fish will eventually tire out and come to the surface and die, not good if it’s warm.


Please direct me to the "illegal" part in the FWC rules. Also, you can set the tension so that even small fish are not pulled completely out of the water. In Arkansas where I'm from, you have to be within sight or sound of the yoyo's during the daytime.


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## Try'n Hard (Oct 23, 2008)

Great catch but ya gotta know when to stop! I hate cleaning catfish!!


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## 1stjackback (Feb 26, 2017)

I'm ready! Hook me up!


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## FishWalton (Jul 22, 2010)

Sea-r-cy said:


> Please direct me to the "illegal" part in the FWC rules. Also, you can set the tension so that even small fish are not pulled completely out of the water. In Arkansas where I'm from, you have to be within sight or sound of the yoyo's during the daytime.


It might be one of those things subject to interpretation, but I can't figure it out myself. 
see http://myfwc.com/fishing/freshwater/regulations/taking-fish/

Catfish are non-game fish and taken by shockers, but electronic devices are specifically prohibited. The law won't get you for having a ton of cats in the boat, but they will for using a shocking device.

I don't see anything in the regs about mechanical devices.


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