Fishing eels, any suggestions?

[hookedonbass]

I don't know a lot about fishing them, but hear good stories about night eeling. I don't have a clue how to fish or keep them. Can anyone fill me in? Thanks for any help.

[fishinmission78]

I usually just toss them out without a weight, prevent eelballs, the simpler the better. Slow retrieve at night in the wash and the area just beyond, just crawl it in an inch at a time. Or you can try to fish the mouth of an inlet, ou out back near the deep water. When the bass hits, you will feel the take, give it line right away, count to 10, set the hook, cross its eyes.

As for keeping them, I use a spackle bucket and aerator. Change the water every couple of days. Just make sure the water doesn't get too hot.

[stormchaser]

I fish them in the ripping current whenever I can, but wait till it's close to slack, either high or low, so I get a better retrieve. If they die, keep them. They fish just as well dead as alive. Put a hook down their throat and out. You can freeze, and use at a later time.

[stripercrazy]

^
You can keep frozen eels for years.Keep them in a ziploc, salt a little with kosher salt, but not really necessary, eel skins are tough!

[dogfish]

I use a mesh sack with a couple wet rags in it, inside of a bait bucket with a lid, when shore fishing. You can put this smaller bucket inside a bigger 5 gal bucker with ice, hibernates the eels down so they're not so squirrelley. When in the kayak, or wade fishing out on e rock, I just put them in a ziploc bag, 2 at a time.

[voyager35]

Not to split hairs, but the eels don't hibernate. The reason the ice works is that it keeps them cool and wet. If they get dry or warm, they die. When we are on the boat, we try to drift them in the rips or over clam or mussel beds, small inline egg sinker, depending on the current. Deadly night bait, or for deep water rips or structure.

[nitestrikes]

Heard some people put wires down their throat to keep them from curling up. Has anyone here tried that?

[pinhead44]

I use a mesh sack with a couple wet rags in it, inside of a bait bucket with a lid, when shore fishing. You can put this smaller bucket inside a bigger 5 gal bucker with ice, ...

I use the 2 bucket ice method as well. For longer, get an aquarium air pump, and change the water every couple of days. Eels will stay alive for weeks.

Heard some people put wires down their throat to keep them from curling up. Has anyone here tried that?

I heard of that, but couldn't do it myself, I feel it's just wrong.

[wish4fish]

also, if they are moving around too much when you take them out, i bang the head a little against the rocks to mellow em out (hope no peta people around here )

[ledhead36]

The reason the ice works is that it keeps them cool and wet. If they get dry or warm, they die.

I think this says it all, cool and wet is the ticket. Otherwise, they're pretty hardy. When you cast them out from shore, try not to just leave them there, unless they are drifting the right direction in current. Instead, try a very slow retrieve, will help to prevent eelballs.

[DarkSkies]

Yukon recently pulled in a keeper on a rigged eel. I was using them 3 weeks ago, but a select few guys started the eel fishin this season long before that.

The big thing for a surfcaster is the bluefish, so if you're smart you kind of jump in at the exact moment the bluefish start to leave, unless your buddy has a tackle shop and you have an unlimited supply of live and dead eels.

I don't mind who chimes in here, all advice is welcome. I set this up in the surfcasters forum because using them from the beach or rocks is a little different than bouncing them from a boat. There's nothing wrong with boat eeling. I have spent many a cold fall day up until the end of December eeling 20# bass from Diamond Reef in the middle of the E River at 50' on the bottom.

So surf, jetty, and inlet eeling is a little different. Anyone who feels like adding their perspective please feel free to jump in.

[DarkSkies]

The worse the weather, wind, and the sweep is, the better you want to control your casting and presentation. A good way of doing this is having enough weight to keep the eel down, and streamlining it so it can get out further.

Here's my comments from the fishin reports section. Anyone else who wants to post up some advice on what works for you, post it up.


"Rigging eels ain't brain surgery, but it ain't that easy either.

Another thing guys sometimes do to streamline things instead of the 3-way is put a 1 oz egg sinker in the eel's mouth and sew it shut. Or you could use an old fashioned eel tin or eel bob, a super-SEKRET technique practiced by only a few old-time sharpies, Fin being one of them. "

[DarkSkies]

When you start out, a heavy duty special ziplok with salt water to preserve the eel will be fine for awhile. You start doing it more and more, and you'll see that it pays off. Unfortunately that means you're on the precipice of a rigged eel addiction.

What does that mean?

If means you will need a place and methods to store your stash of dead snakes. The best place is in a clean very large gallon pickle or mayonaisse jar in the refrigerator.

Here are some simple steps to help with that:

1. Be a single guy, or have an understanding wife or girlfriend.

2. Have patience when rigging, or find a cheap source of dead rigged eels. (Ronnie at Fisherman's supply)

3. Be a single guy, or have an understanding wife or girlfriend. - I'm repeating this because it's THAT important. Nothing will ruin your sexual relations with the wife or girlfriend more quickly than her opening an unknown refrigerator package and finding dead snakes with hooks in them.

Set up a good brine solution - this tip comes courtesy of Fin, one of the old-school masters at eeling, rigging, and storing different creatures in his refrig.

"The brine solution is just right when you put a (hard boiled?) egg in the jar and it floats to the top"

This is important because if there is not enough salt the eel, being organic, will deteriorate and not look too cool as you swing it out there and part of the decayed tail falls off onto your face.

[clamchucker]

Dark, I like the eel bob or tins better because it gives you better control and gives the eel more movement.

[7deadlyplugs]

Great article on the history of eelbobs.
http://www.tattoostackle.com/yestery...porteelbob.php

[jigfreak]

Pretty informative stuff 7deadly, thanks for posting it.

[surfstix1963]

The best way to keep an eel under control is too ice them down.

I use 2 five gallon buckets one inside the other you don't want a smaller bucket on top you need some room in the bottom bucket.

The top bucket you will drill holes in the bottom of it.(This is for the eels slime to drip into the bottom bucket or they will suffocate in their own slime)

So now the buckets are set up:You will also need a burlap bag or a couple of onion sacks I like the onion sacks they are easier to wash off.

Bring the buckets with you to pick up the eels so they are not in a bag of water that will kill them faster.

Put the eels in the top bucket the bags over the eels and ice on top of that(Flaked ice is to compact for this cubes are better)( you do not want the ice directly on the eels) you dont' need to bury them just a little ice will do the thing is keep the eels cool and damp this is where burlap is a little better.

The ice will slow them down easier to hook less inclined to get an eel ball while baiting anyway.As the ice melts it will wash enough slime out of the top bucket into the bottom bucket so they don't die.

Don't cover the bucket that will defeat the whole purpose bungee it down somewhere you don't want eels loose you will never find them all until its too late

I know there are plenty of new mesh bags out there but I have kept eels alive for 3-4 days iced down just keep them away from critters and the sun.And did you ever try to get one lively eel out of a bag of 6-12.

When they hit the water is when they come back to life, only fish eels w/ a slowing current or you are going to have one mess on your hands.

Just a bit of advice if you catch one bass on an eel don't change it you'll have a better chance to catch more bass on that one than a new one, as long as the tail curls when you hold it up its good to go.You might want to move this I just realized maybe not the spot for it just got caught up in this thread.

[plugcrazy]

Can anyone give some pointers on fishing eels? Can the hook be tied directly to 20 lb mono?

I throw up current, count to 10 and cover as much area as possible. Is there a better way?

[surfstix1963]

I always use a shock leader of at least 60lb. test serves 2 reasons it won't be chaffing in the fishs mouth (as if you tied direct) and naturally the shock of impact, I do not tie direct to the main line because the bigger fish love eels and when they hit them they may just snap that 20 lb. test line bass are not leader shy as many think they are.Fishing hard currents is usually a waste of time w/ eels the best time is when the current is slowing otherwise the eel is not in the zone it's just getting washed across the water.One of the best times which is most often productive is the last hour into slack water early a.m. or dusk into darkness) use an eel w/ no weight just let him do his own thing and that will be the most natural presentation cast out and do nothing else when you feel the eel get nervous hold on(Don't do nothing regardless of what happens) and give the fish time to swallow it they usually try to whack it w/ their tail to stun it and then get to the front of it and suck it in like a piece of spaghetti(they flare their gills and inhale the eel I saw this first hand w/ a 35 lb. bass I caught it was better to watch because I now knew one attack mode.) then they swim off when the line comes tight( use a true circle hook)and it will go right in the lip no hookset.Game On their are other ways but this always works for me it requires some perfect timing but you need to learn the areas you fish.Sorry it got so long winded.

[lostatsea]

Great advice, surfstix, thankx!