The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

I've never fished for them deliberately but a mill pool I fish on the Warks Avon reputedly has them to 4lb+.
I met an eel angler on the Thames once who fished for them at night with raw liver on pike snap tackle.

I understand that they grow to quite a size in Redmire although I have never caught one myself.
We used to catch a lot of bootlace eels in our local canal but I have been told that they are quite a rare catch now.

tony1964 wrote:I understand that they grow to quite a size in Redmire although I have never caught one myself.
We used to catch a lot of bootlace eels in our local canal but I have been told that they are quite a rare catch now.

Possibly over 90% decline in the eel population
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/s ... _1_4244309

I was told that as well as the suspected swim-bladder disease brought over with Japanese eels, that the French taking so many elvers from their rivers is thought now to be the main casuse of the decline.

Good Luck with getting the French to change their ways!

Things arn't looking too good for them Bob, but at least its now reconized that the plight of the eel is a serious one. The NAC have for a long time now banged the drum about the decline of the eel population, especially with our concerns about the huge amount of netting of elvers which happens not only illegally but sadly legally aswell. The problems faced by the eel are many, not only with the massive issue concerning nets, the other issues are; hydro dams, pollutions, loss of habitat, global warming and the changing of the North sea oscillation and the parasite (Anguillacola Crassus) which so sevearly damages the eels swim bladder it can't return to the Sargasso Sea to breed.
The next time your lucky enough to catch an eel, please give a thought about it's future and be in awe of its amazing life's journey.

"They seem to be facing near extinction ?"

For a moment I thought you meant the French.

A quite shameful cocktail of emotions followed...

Vole wrote:"They seem to be facing near extinction ?"

For a moment I thought you meant the French.

A quite shameful cocktail of emotions followed...

:chuckle:

Pound for pound [or ounce for ounce!] a cracking fighter.

I fished the Norfolk Broads for eels last summer & caught a couple of smallish ones on light tackle [during daylight when after perch]. They are an amazing creature & anything over a pound puts up a good scrap.

What is the best / easiest way to unhook them? Like any fish I don't want to injure them but I do find it a struggle to keep them still enough to unhook safely.

The vital organs are just behind the head so be very careful there.

Hate leaving hooks in fish, but the eel is a master of getting rid of hooks so - hook out easily or snip the line is what I've been advised.