I have resisted using eels until recently and gotta say I'm impressed. I got a problem though.. how do you seasoned sharpies deal with the little buggers knotting up on you and causing a horrendous slimey messs right after you hook em??

If they're a little too lively and ball up on you, give them a whack on a rock to stun them for a while. Other than a glove, rag, burlap or something along those lines to handle them with, the slime is something you learn to deal with.

I keep my eels on ice!! This will make them slow almost dead like. Use a rag to grab them and put on hook. Then rt to the water!! when they hit the warm water they wake right up.
When moving to another loacation I lay them right on the deck. They will slim around a bit but they will be ok. But when picking them back up put right back in the water fast!!
When I am on the beach I do the same. But when I want to move I slide them down a empty pole holder and they seem to stay stright in the tube till I pull them out.

Just lay em' on ice...I will never understand why some guys buy live eels and then they bang em' on a rock and kill em'....kind of negates the point of having live eels! Put em' on ice and they will be so docile they will not give you any trouble while hooking! Then after hooked, they kind of liven up and kick and squirm just the way you like em'!!!

BigFish, ya don't whack 'em hard enough to kill them. I always ice my eels but once in a whule they still get a little frisky. I mostly boat fish so extra gear like ice buckets an such are not a problem. I just assumed from Eben's avatar, that he was surf fishing and probably didn't want to drag a lot of gear. A lot of guys that I know fishing the suds will keep them iced in their vehicle until the point of heading down to the suds, then bag them and make the walk. Certainly if you're within close proximity of your vehicle or don't mind carrying the bucket, keep them on ice. Again I also assumed everyone kept them on ice.:smash: I guess I just assume too much.
Anyways, like I say, don't whack the little fella hard enough to kill him. Just take a little wind out of his sails. Oh, and this is only done to the ones that piss me off:D

On the beach... drop them in the sand and then grab em.. sand puts a grip on em so they arent slippery.. on the rocks I make sure they are very chilled out, and when moving around grab them by the tail and keep tension on the hook with the rod tip... then they cant curl up on ya...
Bryan

My opinons... Eels suck - use clams instead :hihi:



























OK, eels. Put them on ice but so the melt water can drain (or they'll drown). Sometimes after it is still needed to whack the TAIL on a rock or something, not the head.

This might help here (http://www.striped-bass.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7020&perpage=15&pagenumber=1)

I'm not a fan of putting them in the sand as the sand sticks to your hands then gets in your gear. And half the time you'll have no sand. Use burlap, old sock, or regular rag

Get one of those small soft-sided coolers with a shoulder strap from CVS. Then, punch some holes in the bottom so slime and ice melt drains away, and throw some ice cubes in with your eels. If the thought of icy slime draining on your waders bothers ya, stuff the bottom with paper towels and put a fronzen blue ice thingy in with the snakes.

Remember BigBo...I said "some" guys.....I have had guys tell me that they like to fish their eels dead and by that I mean they take a live eel and smash it till it is dead. I don't need to be reminded that dead eels catch fish too, but some guys do just that...kill em'!:huh: To each, his own I guess!!! I just like mine buried in ice for a few hours, then they are so numb they can't ball up and after a few casts they liven right up and kick away!

Hook them through the bottom jaw and out the eye. Do not hook them through the top jaw then out the eye.

Guys thanks for the tips. Big Bo's right I'm a shore guy... too broke to buy a boat, but maybe one day my ship will come in. The ice thing makes sense. I dont keep them on ice, but I will throw some Ice on them at night, but thats only because I dont want them to dry out.. I'll give it a try next time I'm on safari.

thanks
eben

Eben, I use the ice too. I have 5 gal bucket with a smaller bucket inside with holes drilled in it. I ice the eels, wet the ice first so it does not stick to the eels and then put the smaller bucket in teh 5 gal and the water drains out. For long nights in the summer, I keep extra ice in a cooler in my car. They are very easy to use when iced.

This spring I plan on doing some eel trapping, so I'm going to build a little eel tank at home.. no ice needed there!

dude just buy rubba eels...Done!:hee:

Originally posted by JohnR
This might help here (http://www.striped-bass.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7020&perpage=15&pagenumber=1)


Good read! I learned some stuff from that, thank you.

Eel man?? why haven't I seen him fishing in a while?? I don't really know him, but If I remember right he won the Jerry Sylvester trophy a few years ago.

I grab the little suckers with a Scotch Brite scour pad when hooking them, if they seem to be a little crazy, I grab the hook with my thumb and forefinger so that they just wrap around my hand then I just toss 'em in the water and let them settle a bit before casting. Nothing worse than the eel ball though drives me nuts!

-DAve

john awesome post....were u fishing the end of the jetty at the charlestown breachway? what is the "rotation" people always tell me to get out of the way after one cast.....can you explain how it works?

Crawl before you walk grasshopper - you got spikes?

i have korkers, cabelas breathable waders, wading belt, chota wading boots and aquaskinz evolution top

mmmmm... and what else are you wearing :heybaby: :lasso:

Good write up John. Don't know how I missed that when it was originally written. Only comment i have is that i like 10 seconds per turn of an abu 6500 for the retreive rate. Sounds slow and it is. The only thing you are doing is keeping that eel strethed out so as slow as possible IMO.