what is the best bait for jug fishing???

depends on what you want to catch

Many times the jugs are used for catfish. With that in mind, I've always baited mine with a good stinky chicken liver.

What l do for jug fishing is catch live bait such as shad, herring or if allowed by ur state, blue gill. You want them to be at least 4 inches long but l got with 6 or bigger. Cut a few incisions alone the belly region then place on a hook through the back of the dorsal fin. Some times l double hook it through the meaty part of the tail & again the dorsal. kind of bending the bait in half.
If ur going for predatory fish then use live minnows or shad. just hook it through the back below the dorsal or just below the mouth & through the top of the snout between the nose slits