Eels

[Santiago]

I would not rule out using wire myself next time I go eel fishing, even though I have never lost one on 15lb maxima. Exactly what make/type would you recommend? The last time I used wire (unused trace 7 strand) I had a big eel on and it caused it to kink so badly it broke me off and the wire came back looking like frizzy hair and had broke at one of the dozen or so kinks.

[John Davis]

Bigfish, I use 28lb 7 strand Drennan wire and have never had a problem with it. I only crimp traces nowadays because I'm confident there more secure than twisting wire. I do use about 3'' of 0.5mm silicon tubing pushed over the crimp at the hook end of the trace to mask the harsh feel of the wire, but its not necessary, again its only just a confidence thing. I will also use a wire trace when using worms as bait, you may think it will put fish off, but I've had countless tench, bream, roach, and carp to believe otherwise.
There are some other wires you could try if the thickness of the 28lb wire seems too much, the Drennan soft strand wire is really supple and you can knot it, but its a devil to cut as it easily frays.

Craig, on the subject of meat for eel bait. I find bacon grill the best by far, but even better is a piece of good quailty black pudding. Infact the old BP is a fine carp bait, especially float fished in the margins

[CraigM]

Thanks John.

The first night eel fishing on the Broads last summer I did in fact use a 20lb wire trace [& luncheon meat]. The eels I later caught were when ledgering worms for perch on mono.

My one fish that first night [well, hour or so fishing] - a 10oz bream!! So it wasn't too worried by the wire @ no.8 hook!

[Tony1964]

Do we ever catch out target species?

When I fished for barbel last week, I caught chub and dace and when I fish for carp I catch bream and tench.
I'm going to attach a little note to my bait in future!

[CraigM]

It was never a problem for Mr Crabtree was it?! I think I'm right in saying that he only ever caught the target fish.

Still, I've had some fun catching the "wrong" species.

River & canal pike on worms meant for perch or chub - particularly when they've been 9 or 10lbs & attached to a float rod & 4lb mono.

A near 8lb carp caught when tench fishing on a similar [old Milbro match 13' fibreglass] rod & 3lb line, particularly as it was my first ever try out with a centrepin [Trudex] & all I'd had to practice on were 6oz tenchlets.

Have to admit that whilst grateful for it avoiding me a blank, I was a little disappointed when my first eel bite was a bream!

Will have to start up a thread about "surprise" fish.

[Tony1964]

Will have to start up a thread about "surprise" fish.

Every fish I catch is a surprise to me.

[John Davis]

Just before the seasons finale, I caught an 8lb barbel on a 2'' section of smelt while fishing for big chub on the River Trent. Then a couple of weeks later when zander were the target, a very hungry 5lb+ bream had the munchies for the tail section of a dace. Every year I catch carp on small dead fish while eel fishing and have even had carp on little live baits, it's a funny old game this fishing lark..

[Slow in Suffolk]

Back in the late 70's I lived in Jersey for a couple of years and we used to catch some very big eels on deadbaits. The late John Sidley came over and joined us on a couple of sessions and never have I come across an angler who was so single minded in the pursuit of one species. I can recommend Johns book on the subject as a good read and his methods have become the standard over the years to many of us.

[MaggotDrowner]

I caught five eels last year. (I'd only ever had two before that.) All were small and caught on white maggot while river fishing for perch, apart from one which I caught while dead baiting for pike. I was fishing a whole dead roach tight against some reeds. I caught it during my search for a double figure pike.

Although I came close to my target that day with a pike of 9lb 14oz (my rather modest PB), the eel meant more to me due to them being so rare. I didn't actually weigh it (I couldn't get it calm and was worried about damaging it. It never stopped thrashing about.) but based on the size of the smaller ones I had, I would say it was 4lb at the very least. If not bigger, but I don't want to claim such things, not having weighed it.

The fight was long even with my rather robust pike rod. I couldn't get the fish to the surface of the water for ages. When I finally did, and I realised what I had hooked, I had the surprise of my angling life. Definitely an evening I'll never forget. A lot of people don't like eels but, since looking them up online after my catch, I think they're fascinating.

[Santiago]

Lb for lb they fight the hardest, I had a 5lb er years ago on pike gear and it faught very very hard.