Sorry but Id be all for eliminating jug lines in certain areas

There is a reason for that... similar to why there are limits on cast net size.

Why is there a limit on cast net sizes anyway?

I guess we could all get glass bottom boats and just look at the catfish.

Dang guys. Didn't mean to stir up all this fuss. I guess I should just keep my telephoning question to myself.

Just pay attention to the depth of the thermocline and you won'ty have the dead fish problem.

Call me stupid but how do you know the depth of the thermocline?

Here's your problem- In the summer time the thermocline in lakes is half way down. THis means that there is not enough oxygen for fish to survive in at the bottom of the lakes. When you put jug lines out in the summer time you need to put your hooks half way down. If you are fishing in 20ft. of water have all your hooks 10ft. down and up towards the surface. During the summer time all the oxygen is half way down and up. So set your hooks half way down and towards the surface and you wont have dead fish. Try this and you wont have dead fish. Goodluck. During the winter put your hooks half way down and towards the bottom.

Thanks. Good to know. I can't stand to waste a fish.

Zee, throw all your jugs in the trash and lets go sightseeing.

Tight, I agree with the other posts on this subject. When the water heats up, you really need to check your jugs every couple of hours. By late July, I quit putting out jugs because of this problem.

You can normally see what depth the thermocline is by watching your fish finder. Putt around in deeper water and you will see a line form at a certain depth. that is the line where the oxygen quits and the shad and phtoplankton will settle into. do fish below it for long periods of time and you will be fine.

Truthfully Ray, I think we should do away with all these type of fishing and start using dynamite. Sure would take out the faint hearted and you could get down the boat ramp alot quicker if you had some dyamite! Another plus with dynamite, it will knock out the catfish and you want have to worry about the pain they feel when you clean them. You could be fishing and not chasing shad, if you use dynamite. Another plus, no stinky hands from stainkbait. Maybe just a little powder burn.

I think it is cabellas that have a drop probe that gives temp and oxygen content of the water at whatever depth you want( as far as the cable reaches, of course).

The thermoncline is not necesarily at half the total depth. Just how deep it is depends on a lot of factors. The only way to really find it is to use one of the drop probes listed above.

This is from Cabelas; price is $49.99
However, poor reviews







Temperature Plus Oxygen Meter
Compact and easy to read, this handy unit provides instant readings of the water temperature from 30� to 90�F and the dissolved oxygen content from 0 to 16 ppm in relation to temperature and altitude. Also measures water visibility from 0 to 100% to help choose the right lure color and even locate the thermocline. Unit comes complete with a weighted probe, 50 ft. cable, panel plate with cable storage and oxygen solubility table and a comprehensive guide book. Requires one AA battery (not included). One-year warranty.



Temperature Plus Oxygen Meter Item:IK-010231


$49.99