Fishing with Eels

[Luna Sea 5]

Fishing with Eels
by Rich Russo
 
 If you're a striper fisherman and you don't fish with eels, you're missing out on one of the most productive methods of taking big bass. When I first started fishing with the Connecticut Surfcasters Association, the other guys I fished with were using plugs while I was using eels. Pretty soon, a lot of them turned to eel fishing due the results of those outings. Here is an overall look at striper fishing with eels from caring for your bait to fishing techniques.


These pieces of "striper candy" can be difficult to handle at times. If you've kept them in the cooler, they will be easier to handle because the ice pack slows them down. The best way to handle eels that I have found is to cut up an old burlap bag into rags. This course material lets you get a good grip on the "snake". If you can't find burlap, old cotton socks will do. You grab the eel by the back of the "neck" and grip tightly. Remember, eels can't hurt you but sometimes they will try to wrap themselves around your wrist and get you a little slimed up.

Your terminal tackle should consist of a hook, a monofilament leader and a swivel. The hook should have a short shank and have a bronze or black finish. Stay away from the nickel or gold finish hooks as they are more apt to be seen by a wary striper. Depending on the size of the eel, I use a 4/0 to 6/0 Mustad 94150 or Mustad 9174 (Gamakatsu Octopus #0241_). Some guys swear by the circle hooks but I have to admit, I haven't tried them yet. Now that they come in a black finish, I'll have to give them a try (Gamakatsu Octopus Circle #20841_). For leader material, 3 feet of 40 to 60 pound test monofilament is preferred. I like to use heavier leaders when fishing rocky areas due to the striper's penchant for diving into rocks. Attach a 90/100 pound test black barrel swivel to the end of the leader and that completes your terminal tackle.

Now it's time to start fishing. There are several methods of hooking an eel. One method is to run the point of the hook through one eye and out the other. This way you have the support of the skull when you cast your eel. Another method is to place the point of the hook into the eel's mouth and bring it out through one of the eyes. My personal favorite method of hooking an eel is to place the point of the hook as deeply into the eel's mouth as possible and bring it out through the bottom of the throat. The disadvantage of this is that the soft tissue tears more easily and you might loose a few more eels when casting, but not a significant number. The advantage is that the eel will stay lively longer and you can hide more of the hook shank in the eel's mouth so as to be less noticeable to your prey.

After you cast your eel seaward, hold your rod tip in the 12:00 o'clock position and reel in slowly. When a bass strikes your eel, there are two schools of thought as to what to do next.


One way to proceed is to drop your rod tip so it's parallel with the water and set the hook when the line tightens.
The other school of thought is to drop your rod tip like before but as you drop your rod, open your bail, or throw the clutch if you're using conventional gear, and count to 10 while you let the fish run. You'll want to close your bail or engage your gears, but not without slack in your line because the fish might feel the tension and drop your offering. To get that needed slack, you slowly raise your rod tip while the fish is running, then drop it again. Engage your line pick up and keep you rod tip low until the line tightens, then set the hook. This gives the fish a chance to take the bait and gives you a better chance for a hook up. Unfortunately, this often means you'll hook the fish deeper and could do damage to a fish you intend to release.


If you find yourself with leftover eels at the end of your trip, they are not difficult to keep alive for your next trip. The easiest way to keep your eels alive is to get a 5 or 10 gallon aquarium with an aerator. Try to keep the aquarium in a cool part of the house because if the water gets too warm, the eels won't survive. I keep the eels in the mesh bag and dunk the whole thing in the aquarium. This saves me the trouble of having to scoop net them. If you don't keep them in a mesh bag, put some sort of covering over the aquarium as the eels can escape.

Another way to keep your eels alive is to use what I call the "three bucket system". This consists of three 5 gallon buckets, two of which have drain holes in the bottom, damp seaweed or rags, and ice. You place the eels with the damp seaweed or rags in a bucket with drain holes and place that bucket inside the bucket without drain holes. Then, you place the second bucket with drain holes over the bucket with the eels and place ice cubes in it. This set up allows the ice to melt and drip onto the eels to keep them moist and it lets any excess water and slime to drain off of the eels and into the bottom bucket. They will stay alive and healthy as long as you keep them moist. This method is a little more labor intensive because you'll have to add ice and drain the bottom bucket a couple of times a day.




 
 

[Pfishingruven]

Another excellent article!

 

[ped579]

Good article thanks Nick.

[kezsr]

good read and tips

[dikdanger]

question...  how much weight you using???


what speed are you reeling in at???


same technique off of boat and surf???


I never casted my eel and reeled in... i would leave the live lil bugger out there... 

[Luna Sea 5]

reel in slow so the eel doesn't tangle itself in the line.  You just want to keep the slack out of the line, and to do this, just reel in very slow.

[Pfishingruven]

Anyone ever fished with live sand eels or just regular american eels?

 

[Treebeard]

question...  how much weight you using???


what speed are you reeling in at???


same technique off of boat and surf???


I never casted my eel and reeled in... i would leave the live lil bugger out there... 

From the boat, I fish a different rig than described in the article.. I run a 3-way swivel with about a 3' dropper to the sinker, and about 2' to the hook. Then I drop till the sinker is skipping on the bottom as I drift.. Rods go in a holder until they bent over, as I've found the less the bait is manipulated, the less chance of the dreaded "Eelball" I don't believe in bashing the eel first to slow it down, I want'em "hot" , but after ya get 'em hooked, don't waste time getting him down. As for weight, as always it depends on current/drift speed.. Just enough to maintain bottom contact.. And, while I havent done this much since turning my attention to all Saltwater, I've also done real well fishing them under slip floats up on the Hudson. The floats work great when the drift is funky, or when at anchor, and they let you really spread baits out.. I'm sure the local Surfrats will chime in on surf techniques

[Luna Sea 5]

Anyone ever fished with live sand eels or just regular american eels?

 

thats what we use, American eels.

[Pfishingruven]

That's all I have ever used in the surf...of course, sand eels are very well populated this year and I thought it might be worth trying them.  I don't even know if you can get them live anywhere around here...I have only seen them frozen!

 

[ped579]

American Eels in the surf are like candy for stripers.  Like Nick said, slow to the point when your are reeling slow it is not slow enough.

[Bucktail]

That's all I have ever used in the surf...of course, sand eels are very well populated this year and I thought it might be worth trying them.  I don't even know if you can get them live anywhere around here...I have only seen them frozen!

 

It would be hard to liveline a sandeel as it would die very quickly.  They are not a very hardy fish.

[Pfishingruven]

Thanks Bob!  That would explain why I have never seen them live in a B&T...only frozen.

 

[Hunter 2]

Good info here, The eel season is back