Juggin'

Took Thomas and Jessica out this morning form some jugging.  We threw out 24; 13 in the shallows in about 7-9 FOW and 9 in the deep in about 32 FOW.  We used my "Guzzard Punch" bait, which is chicken gizzards soaked in Kool Aide and garlic powder.  Had a fantastic time and Thomas pulled in a big one!  Ended the day with 8 cats and 1 drum.  Ready to go again.

Day off with Daddy

Thomas was on spring break this week, so he and I decided to go to the Decatur pumphouse and catch some bluegill.  We dug worms out of our yard and headed out with our Toy Story Woody Pole.  Thomas caught 13! Awesome day!!

Family Fun - A Little Jug Fishing

Wheeler Lake

Time: 6:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Air Temperature: Low 63 - High 83
Water Temperature: 
Lake Level: 555.22

Weather Conditions: Mostly sunny and clear. Winds ESE- 6-10 MPH.

My wife and son joined me today for some family fun while jug fishing for catfish.  We wanted to give Thomas some introduction to fishing and jug fishing is a simple way to get out and catch some fish easily without any major skills needed.  Todd Whatley had give me some stand-up noodles jugs he built and today was the first day giving them a try.  They worked great and we had an awesome day!

Teach 'em Right

 Had a Father-Son day today with my boy and decided to take him bluegill fishing on the bank at the pump house.  Probably caught + on worms we dug out of the flower beds at home.  Thomas reeled in his first solo fish!  Needless to say, he had a blast!

Thomas's First Time on the Water and Daddy's First Trotlines in nearly 20 years

Location: Wheeler Lake - Cowford/Swan Creek Area - Alabama

Time: 7:00 AM - 8:30 PM
Air Temperature: 58 degrees AM
Water Temperature: 62 - 67 degrees
Lake Level: 554.91' - 97,667 cfps - A little heavy on current, but level is correct for this time of year.
Weather Conditions: Calm. Sunny.


Decided to take the 50+ 2-3" bluegill I caught this week in minnow traps and do a trial run of my new trotlines with nothing but live bait.  Jessica and Thomas helped me to put a 50 hook line just east of the Cowford boat launch in about 9-10 FOW.  We put the line between the channel and the feeding flats in hopes of targeting flathead catfish with the live bait.  We placed it about 6 pm on Saturday and ran the line out and came back to bait it in the water. This was Thomas's first time out on the water! 

I came back out this morning (Sunday) by myself to run the line.  On hook number 2, I had my first fish! Although I didn't catch any flatheads, I did haul in 4 channels and one nice blue.  My line did get snagged on something pretty solid around 20 hooks in.  I did have to cut and re-tie, but that is just part of it.  Hooks 20-30 seemed to do the best.  Lots of empty hooks.  I think the bluegill got off the line rather than catfish throwing the hooks.  I think I ended up with about 20 lbs of fish.  They made a nice mess once filleted!.  These new lines are nice and I can't wait to run them again.

My favorite fishing buddy!

March 19, 2020

My favorite fishing buddy! 

BUILDING NEW TROTLINES FROM SCRATCH!

March 1st - 15th, 2020

BUILDING NEW TROTLINES FROM SCRATCH!

Some time around 1978, my dad, Ronny Watkins, picked up a Memphis Net & Twine catalog, ordered supplies, and built a set of trotlines with a couple of friends. I have great memories from when I was a kid running those same lines. This month, Doug, Douglas, Daniel, and my Dad helped me assemble four new lines that I too ordered supplies from Memphis Net & Twine. We had a great time assembling these and truly respect this as a lost art. My boy even got in on the action! Looking forward to many years and memories with these new lines.

If you are in the market for supplies, check out Memphis Net & Twine.

Below is a list of supplies and techniques we used.  This was enough material for 4 new lines (two 50 hook lines and two 100 hook lines):

• 12 Spools of TWB-60 Braided Nylon Twine Size 60
• 1 Spool of TWB-12 Braided Nylon Twine Size 12
• 2 CSW - 6/0 Champion Swivels, 12 count per bag (24 total purchased)
• 4 CSW - 1/0 Champion Swivels, 100 count per bag (400 total purchased)
• 7 - L198 - 5/0 Eagle Claw Lazer Sharp Big Eye offset trotline hooks, 50 count per box (350 total purchased)
• 34 SB5 PVC Sponge Floats 3-1/2" Dia x 1-1/2 thick.
• Custom made dog tags for line identifications (Amazon)
• 5 jump boxes - 16" x 16" x 5-1/2" deep.  Constructed from poplar 1 x 6 board for sides and 1/4" maple plywood for bottoms.  Stained and triple coated with clear coat.   

6/0 swivels used for each free end and for joining ends together when splicing main line.  1/0 swivels used for hook float and hook stagings.  Size 60 twine used for main line. Size 12 twine used for float and hook stagings.  Floats at the beginning and end of the line and after every 10 hooks.  Hook stagings cut to 20" to give approximately 10" of drop when tied.  Float stagings cut to 56" to give about 24" of height when tied. Approximately 20 feet of free line on each end.  Hooks staged about 8-9 feet apart.  100 hook lines end up being about 950 feet long and 50 hook lines end up being about 500 feet long