I have always had some success with cut carp as bait when rod and reel fishing. However, after not finding shad and catching a few carp, I ran twenty jugs with the fresh bait. Not only did I not catch one fish, I didn't even lose a bait. Kinda hurts the confidence in cut carp. Anybody had similar results?

I've found Carp to be an excellent bait. There are times when nothing works or that it seems. Might try different baits in the same areas at the same time. Maybe bait one hook with carp and another with something like Rednecks bait soap as an example. I've had luck on his bait and then keep track of which hooks have the carp and which have the other. It could be the placement of the jugs or lines. From reading your post it sounds like this is a first time for you setting out jugs, in that you mention only catching fish on carp only while using rod and reel. But you know what they say about assumming.
Try placing them on the secondary points that run from shallow out to a nearby creek channel. Usually if you set them at a depth no more than 15 ft. at the deepest and setting some shallow and some a little deeper toward the main channel. You can also set some back in the coves or on a long sloping flat that has deeper water not too far away.
With twenty jugs you should be able to cover a lot of water and at various depths.
I guess the moral of this story is don't put all your eggs in one basket. Spread out the jugs and vary the baits until you find the right combination.

I've had lots of success with cut carp! If you weren't losing any bait then there must not have been many fish holding in that area or depth. Try to find an area with a good depth change. Don't give up on the cut carp!!

spaz

Carp is excellent! I totally agree! But, this weekend I went to Texoma and had few takers on carp. Bit shad but not carp. Stick with the carp, tougher bait, smells, and catches big catatas!

cobesters

New to Jug fishing! I have a creek beside my home that has a ton of 8 to 10 pound Carp. Say I was to catch the Carp! Then, do I cut them up and put them on ice. Then go a bait my juglines? I have never tried Carp, but I see them everyday. Also, how many hooks do you put on one Jugline? Do you like Circle Hooks?.....Thanks for posting!

Jimbo, thanx for the advice. I have jug-fished this area many times with shad and had decent to good luck. I cannot find the shad lately, so I went to cut carp. I guess the fish were not there or feeding due to muddy water, time of day, etc. I was just curious of what results others were having on carp. From the response, sounds like carp is a good jug bait. Now, if I could only find the stinkin shad!

I've used carp before and had some luck but I still got more bites on shad. Fresh carp should do the best but I don't think you have to have fresh carp to catch fish. Ranger R the most hooks I use on a jugline is 3 so it's easier to put out. I use kahle hooks on my jugs and I don't think I loose any fish but circle hooks should work just as well. And Ranger R if you ever want to thin out those carp I could help you.

I seem to remember that Texas only allows 5 hooks on a jugline, but someone please correct me if I'm mistaken. I often attach my bottom three hooks by making a loop in the line, pushing the loop through the eye of the hook, bringing the hook through, then pulling tight. While this method allows you to remove the hook pretty easily, it's still too difficult to take them off when I'm landing a fish. However, I have a hook 3' above my bottom hook, and another 3' above that, so I can hold the mainline ABOVE that third hook while I'm nettng a fish on the bottom line. If I add any hooks above that, I make a loop in the mainline and clip on a hook with a trotline clip that can be quickly and easily removed when I'm pulling in a fish. Having hooks on a line behing where you're working is just asking for a big cat to make a run and jerk a hook into your hand. Actually, I make loops every 3' all along my mainline so I can easily attach hooks wherever I want; I also use them to stop the line from unwinding when I have unrolled all I want. I have a trotline clip mounted to the lid of my 2-liter jug, and I simply clip onto a loop. Why have a loop to clip onto? Because the clips are made for 300#-500# trotlines, and they tend to slip on smaller juglines; clipping onto a loop keeps them from slipping.