Best bite alarm when eel fishing

[Santiago]

I want to catch a big eel on my MKIV carp rod coupled with a vintage fixed spool reel (name escapes me) so what is the best way to detect a bite bearing in mind I'll have to have the bail arm open to allow the first run and a second run to strike at, and I'll be fishing in about 10' water with a little pace, so it's all a bit tricky. I would use a bait runner reel but my son has more sensibility on these matters and has banned me from using anything modern with cane. So I'm a tad puzzled how to approach this problem!

[MaggotDrowner]

Perhaps consider a pin for low resistance, rather than open bail. But if you're not going to sit up all night watching the bobbin / climber still go for a alarm. Eels do take a bait deep, which can be problematic as they aren't keen on holding still while you remove the hook. You wouldn't want to miss a drop back, which you could if only listening for the roar of a pin so an alarm is the best bet.


I would have thought any old alarm will do the job, no?


Is talk of alarms allowed on here? Personally I see no issue in vintage gear and traditional techniques laid on an alarm to ensure good bite detection and fish welfare. Not sure if Mark and Co want alarms mentioned though and I don't want to get myself into trouble again. But I guess people do talk about those old Heron alarms...


I have recently bought two with a wireless sounder. That way I can have the alarms on silent and only have the sounder with the volume on low in my tent. That way I don't have to have the alarms on loud and disturb the peace. These (but two not three): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Prologic-Senz ... 259046050c

[Michael]

I`d use a bait runner or alarms, anything to avoid deep hooking an eel, by striking on the first run and never wait until the second run, striking as soon as the eel has the bait. In all honesty a missed eel is better than a dead eel. I`ve seen it on a few ccasions, folk having deep hooked an eel, buggering around with a long disgorger, causing irreparable harm and damage to an eel, probably resulting in the eels death, as they have punctured vital organs, which are just behind the eels head. Please do not wait, strike at then earliest opportunity and prevent deep hooking....... Sermon over....

[Santiago]

Thanks chaps. I will consider the options. My son sort of has my speedia with heavy line on and Walker recommends using a fixed spool for eels to help bully them because one does n't fight big eels like any other fish. So I wonder how Walker did it. Just remembered I have an eel book (trad fishing one) so I'll consult that.

By 'alarm' I didn't mean electronic but any other option. My son is a pain and adamant that if I use cane I do so properly! ! Perhaps I'll just not use modern tackle with cane when hse's around.

We very rarely get deeply hooked eels so we must be doing it right.

[Santiago]

Not to worry Merlot I'll try striking on the first run in future. Most of the time the hooks pop out in the landing net. We've caught many eels between 3 to 5lb and unhook them in the water using forcepts and I cannot even remember the last time we even touched one. None of the eels caught in recent years were deeply hooked but hooked cleanly in the jaw. I suspect the mistake folk make might be hiding the hook in the bait. We use small fishv heads with the hook point well exposed so they eels are hooked before swallowing the bait. Most of our runs are just single big ones anyway, but there are times when we get a very quick run (too quick to strike) only to later reel in to discover an eel on which is more likely to be deeply hooked but this is rare and hard to avoid. But should this happen I was told by experts to snip the line and on no account try to disgorge the hook so that's what we do!

[MaggotDrowner]

One other thing, I'd always use barbless hooks for eels for obvious reasons.

Nothing wrong with cane sat on electronic alarms in my book. I always use alarms at night (when not using my pound shop special glowing float tips)!

[Michael]

I did go on a bit, but I`ve always had a soft spot for eels... I even had rigs, to prevent eels taking a bait too deep. With the overall drastic decline in the population, anything helps. We are soon getting rid of sky on the goggle box, but on one of the discovery channels, I noticed there is a new programme, how the American elver catchers operate, all for money, give it a few years and they will be I the same situation as we are.......

[Santiago]

MD I agree but my son is a hard task master! Raymond Perrett in Eels How to Catch Them recommends holding the rod and the line so you can give line out when needed so I might try that and strike after a second or so before the bait is dropped. Traditional thinking is eels drop the bait after the first run and then swallow and run again. So it should be a matter of timing but I will no longer wait for that second run and holding the rod and feeling the line for tugs will be my approach.

[Santiago]

Merlot in my book there's nothing wrong with going on a bit! Thanks for the advice and I'll give it a whirl. My son and I also have a soft spot for eels and only try to catch them a couple of times every year. A few years ago we even banned ourselves but I managed to catxh a 3lber on a trout pellet meant for barbel!

[Penninelad]

I spent much of my fishing time in the 1970's and early 1980's fishing for eels.I became a member if the National Anguilla Club and eventually Chairman and fished with some superb anglers who were in the club at that time.I started off using metal hub caps and old pennies to indicate a run and they worked very well.We painted the pennies with white paint so we did not lose them in the dark.Arthur Sutton was a long standing member and a fine maker and innovator of bite alarms and I used a set of his AJS antennae and Gripper alarms for many years before moving onto the Optonics.All these alarms worked well.The NAC archive contains some interesting articles on techniques for reducing and preventing resistance on a run.In those happy days we used car covers(I found VW beetle knew were the best)draped over umbrellas and went all over Britain fishing for eels.How times have changed.