Eels

This forum is for discussing eels.
User avatar
PershoreHarrier
Rainbow Trout
Posts: 3270
Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2013 5:13 pm
11
Location: North Worcestershire

Re: Eels

Post by PershoreHarrier »

Snape wrote:I've never fished for them deliberately but a mill pool I fish on the Warks Avon reputedly has them to 4lb+.
Well in my search to re-encounter a large barbel which got the better of me between the two weirs in the park at Stratford-on-Avon (Warwickshire Avon of course) I switched from a large piece of bread flake to a large piece of luncheon meat and encountered several eels running to the 3lb mark.

Using barbless hooks certainly has its advantages when unhooking them and I would reckon that 1 in 2 of the eels I have caught have blown the hook out once I have got them on the bank. If I cannot see the hook I always just cut the line rather than do internal damage to them and all the eels I have caught are returned as I have no Cockney roots.

I used to catch alot of bootlace eels in Norfolk on the Broads when using maggots and they inevitably took the bait well down. They invariably made a mess of my line and managed to put a couple of knots in it with their antics when being landed. I gave up using maggots as bait in Norfolk and rely on bread or sweetcorn to encounter the roach and the bream.

User avatar
MaggotDrowner
Zander
Posts: 3977
Joined: Sun Dec 16, 2012 11:32 pm
11
Location: Nottinghamshire

Re: Eels

Post by MaggotDrowner »

I really like them. Even the little ones. Always gets the heart racing, especially when caught on my rather floppy Sealey Specialist (hollow glass) when after the gudgeon. I've only ever hooked one so I couldn't get the hook out. But it was only a size 18 and barbless. I'm sure he spat it out soon enough.

There are new signs up all over my club waters this year, asking us to report any eel catches and that they should all go back too. It also says to treat any cuts etc with the same stuff we use on carp these days. It also mentions cutting the line if the hook is taken deep and about how you can damage the eels organs by poking around after hooks. They are also banned as baits too. I knew it all already, but my mate didn't. All good in my opinion. I was impressed. I hear they are getting rare and a 4lber could be 40+ years old!
"I'd rather be fishing!"

MD

User avatar
Gary Bills
Rainbow Trout
Posts: 3070
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 6:57 pm
12
Location: Herefordshire

Re: Eels

Post by Gary Bills »

There are quite a few eels at "Clay Farm Pond", and you can catch them in broad daylight during the summer and early autumn, especially on prawns. I don't like them, because when I catch 'em I'm not fishing for eels. This said, I see them as a sign of a healthy water, and I suspect that there may be a few big ones in there. My best from the pool was only 1lb or so.
I've rarely fished for eels, and my PB eel is only 1lb 12oz, from one of the rare occasions when I actually stayed out under the moon, with eels on my mind.

User avatar
Hovis
Tench
Posts: 2525
Joined: Tue Apr 02, 2013 1:54 pm
10
Location: Nottingham

Re: Eels

Post by Hovis »

On the Trent during the last few seasons we have seen an increase in the number of eels we are catching.
Most of these are boot laces but we are getting a few to 2.5lb. The fishing can be so hectic as soon as it gets dark it’s hard to keep a maggot or worn in the water we have also caught them on pellets while trying to catch Barbel.
I have laid aside business, and gone a'fishing.

Izaak Walton

User avatar
Santiago
Wild Carp
Posts: 11014
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2012 2:30 pm
12
Location: On my way to Mars
Contact:

Re: Eels

Post by Santiago »

Like this! Notice the trout pellet next to the eels head. This was a baby 31/2lber eel from the Thames. I lost quite a few mystery fish whilst barbel fishing with pellets that season; my hooklink kept on being bitten off within seconds of striking. They may have been pike but I suspected they were big eels, and then I caught this!!
eel.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
"....he felt the gentle touch on the line and he was happy"

Hemingway

Post Reply

Return to “Eel (Anguilla anguilla)”