Texas Fishing Forum

Jug fishing bait

Posted By: hurricanecraig

Jug fishing bait - 06/01/18 04:24 PM

Anybody using chicken breast for bait? I recently heard about people using it and was curious if it works.
Posted By: KQT

Re: Jug fishing bait - 06/02/18 11:22 PM

Yes and yes
Posted By: Catfish Lynn

Re: Jug fishing bait - 06/03/18 03:40 AM

OK, so you want to know about jugs & if chicken breast is good for bait. Here is one of Dave's runs with chicken breast soaked in Dead Red. Dave has been using my Catfish Calendar for quite some time now. And I have shared tips on how to maximize the Calendar for greater volume. Such as baiting your lines out ahead of a specific day on the Calendar. As well as Bleedover can factor in as well, before & after. On this trip, Dave set out the juglines on a ZIP day, then came back the next day (BC day aka BlueCat) to pull lines & fish caught.

Before Dave moved up to Oklahoma, his neighbors started giving him nicknames, as to him & his fishing buddy coming in with so much fish.

Anyway, here is one he posted from near the end of 2016.

<http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/11941303/>
Posted By: G-Mac

Re: Jug fishing bait - 06/03/18 09:59 PM

Catfish Lynn how do you make the chicken breast bait? What size pieces, how long to soak in Dead Red, how to hook (skin side in or out) etc. Also, how do I get your catfish calendar?
Posted By: Catfish Lynn

Re: Jug fishing bait - 06/04/18 06:48 AM

I have not touched base with Dave lately to get his exact method, but he told me that you use fresh boneless chicken breast. I tried some recently but up in the shallows & where lots of turtles are. And other than the turtles, the small channels tore it up. I am sure had I been out deep, the Blues would have tore it up, just as they have for Dave. He also uses Bar S wieners soaked in Dead Red.

Here is the way I cut it up, as I was not sure how large of chunks Dave was cutting. I bought one big package of boneless, skinless chicken breast. It had four fairly good breasts in it. I bought the 3 pak rectangular oval flat type of cheap Rubbermaid plastic containers with sealable lids (they had a red lid). I bought 2 paks (total of 6). I also bought 2 paks of Bar S Wieners.

I figured 2 breasts per container & 1 package of wieners per container. I cut the chicken breast basically cross-grain as best as possible. Since I was fishing the shallows (the reason is noted further below), I was not trying to get real big on chunks. About 1.5" long by 1" wide x about 1" thick (some variation, but about like that at best estimate). Naturally, if you are out deeper & are targeting Blues, you might go 1.5 x 1.5 x 1.5 estimate. I would ask Dave, but since he moved up to Oklahoma, I forgot to get his new E-dress. So unless he drops me a note via TFF PM, I can't give you definites on his method or size. As to the wieners, I cut chunks about 1" thick. They too were getting eaten up, but not as good as the chicken breast.

I had 2 breasts per container & 1 package of wieners to a container. I used 4 of 6 I bought. I had two bottles of Dead Red Spray. I emptied half a bottle in each of the 4 containers. I put their lids on tight & turned them over, shook them up. Then I put them stacked into the refrgerator awaiting my trip. Then I kept them in a tub with an ice jug or two out in the boat to keep them fresh & cool. But I also brought back what I did not use & slid them each into a gallon Ziploc just in case they decided to leak & put them in the freezer. The containers held tight & did not leak. But I also realized I would have outer residue on the containers from using them out on the water, so I was trying not to contaminate the freezer or spread the smell. I froze some twice. Depending upon hook type & size, I just hooked the breast pieces thru it. If long enough, maybe twice. Some Channels still had the breast piece slid up the hook. On the wieners, I hooked thru the encasing if possible.

Even though I discarded the containers & juice left, I understand that you can re-use the Dead Red into the next fresh batch you make. Plus after 3 trips, I was amazed at the containers & how they still did not leak, as part of my testing. These were the cheap pak of Rubbermaid thin type, not the thicker type like Tupperware.

I would have loved to try it out in deeper water, but I was testing out my new 12' flat bottom & only had a 3.5 HP Johnson on it. I had rigged up the front to get a raised area, for waves & if only one in the boat, a little extra before dipping water. It worked. And I was in that area for a specific reason. I was targeting "The Giant", to see if it was still in the area of which we have encountered it. I have mapped out its path (trails) & set both trotlines to hopefully encounter it again. The drought of 2011 from being about 3.5' low from June of that year, dropped to an unreal 10' low by Thanksgiving. The area the Giant runs in, as to our encounters, is only about 7' to 9' deep. So I was wondering if it had returned. On the eve of Cinco de Mayo, I can rest assured, it has. For more on that recent story, see my Catfish Calendar thread. Read the May calendar entry & the next two entries. While I missed my shot that round, I may be lucky, as I am sure if it had really held on to my leader, as powerful as it & I am, I figure the boat front end would have dipped, tipped, or rolled.

OK, currently, I still have not finished compiling the 2018 printed calendar, but you can get the 2018 Catfish Calender here on TFF every month, as well as back up & go down the line.

As for you & those just now tuning in, you can back up to a little of the background behind the Calendar and tips along the way shared in the yearly threads. I was taught by two YellowCat teachers, and learned from what they had been taught, as well as learned from their experience. However, I stumbled upon the Calendar by accident (or was it?). I tell folks I didn't create it, I just discovered it. The pattern was already there, but due to circumstances it unfolded & then I had to wonder. Well, there is no wonder any more. In 1981-1982 I had specific days off & started catching YellowCats. To prove my theory & findings, I mapped out a plan (investigation) of the next 3 years, from April 1983 thru April 1986 on the Trinity River below TX 21 bridge. Each year, I mapped out the calendar & chose my targets, be they weekends or vacations. In August 1983, we encountered "Big'Un" (60+# Op aka spotted YellowCat) & I used the calendar to plan my attack. I finally pulled her in on July 1985. It took 2 years, but I finally won that battle. That was Phase 1 as to rivers in Texas. In 2002, I started Phase 2 of lakes, as to Running Branch Marina on Lake Limestone. Here are your links to the previous years, as well as this current year's thread:

Previously ...
2010 <http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5176857/1>
2011 <http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5657988/1>
2012 <http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/7059981/1>
2013 <http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/8477517/1>
2014 <http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/9620277/1>
2015 <http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/10541276/1>
2016 <http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/11325915/1>
2017 <http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/12013552/1>

And this year's ...
2018 <http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/12556618/1>
Posted By: G-Mac

Re: Jug fishing bait - 06/05/18 01:07 PM

Thank you Catfish Lynn.
Posted By: rdmac

Re: Jug fishing bait - 06/10/18 01:07 AM

I've used chicken breast for bait and it worked ok, but it's hard to beat fresh shad for jug lines.
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