The Toothy Dangers of Fishing Jug Lines

Jug lines are the ultimate 'lazy mans' fishing method. But all too often, the creature on the hook bites back.

Juggin' might be one of the most popular fishing methods around the many man-made reservoirs in Oklahoma. It's not uncommon at all to see cut up pool noodles and bright orange Tide bottles floating around dammed lakes. It just makes the act of catching fish lazy and efficient.

If you don't know, simply put, you tie your hooked bait to something that floats, and toss it in the water. As we've all seen in Jaws, even the biggest fish can only swim for so long with a float pulling it towards the surface.

Throughout most of Oklahoma, the prey of choice is the catfish. But more often than not fisherman come into close contact with the notable Alligator Gar. A very toothy fish full of fighting vigor. In the old days, you'd just whip out a .22 pistol and put it out of it's misery, but the state frowns on that these days... You're left to fight these beasts, either by hand, or with a hefty mallet of hardwood.

The further Southeast you go, the more likely you are to pull up the storied American Alligator... but that's been pretty rare, even though SEOK is known to have a small population of gator.

This guy, and his kid, were extremely lucky to come out of that very short battle losing only a jug or two.