20 + years since i caught an eel?

[AntiqueAngler]

Having just read the previous article regarding eels making a comeback,I had been thinking along similiar lines.
It must be well over 20 years since I last caught an eel and I was of the general belief that the species were in serious decline.
However in the last month I have fished 2 enclosed waters,probably 40 miles apart and caught 4 eels,all have taken a prawn bait.
Despite the usual rituals of messily unhooking I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience.
Noting a previous comment about larger eels having great age,it was noticeable in this case 3 specimens were less than 12 oz in weight and 'silvery' in appearance which to me would indicate young fish;the fourth was much larger,olive green in colour and gave a great scrap and netted with difficulty due to it's length.
This has really fuelled my enthusiasm as I would love to catch one over3 lb,watch this space.
Cheers,
Steve

[Silfield]

Lets hope that they are on the increase and I am sure that 3lb er will come.
I also hadn't caught an eel in over 30 years (admittedly most of my fishing in that time was on the fly) but remember fondly as a lad of 13/14 fishing a small lake on a local farm that contained the odd whopper. I was allowed to fish the lake on the premise that any eels caught were to be put in a bucket for the farmers father, a few went that way but the majority got returned safely.
A couple of months ago I caught one, also on prawn, when hoping for a decent perch. When it surfaced the first thing that came into my head was 'Oh no, a bloody eel' ( memories of slime half way up my arm, a deep hook to remove from something that just wont stay still!) but that instantly changed to 'Excellent an eel'
They are a welcome addition to any days angling now.

[Santiago]

If they're deeply hooked it's far safer just to cut the line near the hook. Often the bigger eels just sit and devour the bait without registering a bite so it's inevitable that sooner or later you'll have to deal with a deep hook up!

[AntiqueAngler]

Totally agree with these sentiments,still have a Whopper on my wish list,along with Big perch.One thing I have noticed with bites on float is that is just seems to fade away slowly sideways.
Off to try again Thursday!
Cheers,
Steve

[Santiago]

Reminds me when I was about ten I saw this old chap hook an enormous eel at a local pond in York, whilst roach fishing using a match rod. We were fishing the other end of the pond and we ran around to this chap when we saw the bend in his rod. Anyways, he fought it for several minutes but it just wouldn't go into his landing net, and eventually the hook hold slipped. This chap never battered an eye lid and just carried on fishing as if nothing had happened. That eel must have been well over 5lb!

[Danesman]

Over the last 3 years eels have been getting caught quite frequently from one of my club waters after appearing to be absent for a number of years. A couple of weeks ago a 5lb plus was banked and safely returned. Another water run by the same club also has a good resident head of eels, both waters have a river close by. Might there be something in that ?

[Santiago]

The only reliable sign eels populations are on the up is the presence of lots of boot lace eels. Anything over two pounds could be over a decade old or more. The bigger ones being over twenty or thirty years old.

[Ally]

I havent caught an eel for many years either. I remember the Somerset drains were full of them. I also remember hooking about 7 of the blighters one June 16th on a Thames sidestream.

[DaceAce]

A couple of my local stillwaters that are closely connected to Poole Harbour in Dorset produce eels regularly in summer to about a pound and a half. Very few show now in the rivers but they're still present; I watched one feeding on emerging mayflies on the Piddle a few weeks ago.

[AntiqueAngler]

Sounds promising for the future,hope I am still around to see it!
Talk of elvers reminded me of the River Ribble 50 years or more ago.There used to be masses of them in the pools and underneath the rocks,have caught many a chub which had gorged on them and spewed up the contents in the landing net.