Juggers

It took some work many years ago, but I convinced my family to not expect fresh fish upon my return from a bass fishing trip. Instead of taking bass home, I chose to practice catch and release. By doing so, bass anglers can take advantage of the resource more than one time.

But my family loves to eat fish and I had no time to “meat” fish while bass fishing. I call it “meat fishing” because catfish and crappie are two species of fish that are plentiful and great eating. Typically, bass fishermen have tunnel vision by only targeting bass. This leaves pressure on catfish and crappie low. It also leaves a freezer empty of fish.

The best way I know to catch meat fish is with a product called “Juggers.” Juggers are small white foam float buoys that come packaged 3 per package. Included are hooks, line, sinkers and nametags for personal identification. In less than 5 minutes I had my Juggers ready to be baited and dropped in the water.

I adjusted the depth and clipped the line in place. Then dropped them in a creek channel where I would be bass fishing. Two hours later I had only boated and released 1 bass. But each Jugger had a catfish. After putting the catfish in the livewell, I rebaited the Juggers and returned to bass fishing. This time I kept an eye on the Juggers while fishing. In no time all 3 white buoys began moving and I again retrieved 3 catfish.

When I returned home, my kids were amazed and said, “Daddy brought fish for us to eat!” I explained that I really didn’t catch them, the Juggers did. Jug lines have long been a favorite way to catch catfish. But I have experienced trouble with making them user friendly. My homemade jug lines were always a mess and although they worked, they were a hassle because they would always tangle. But Juggers are an easy and inexpensive way to easily catch fish for the family.

For more information on Juggers, contact your local Academy Sports & Outdoors or other outdoor retailers.