If I'm suppposed to be posting this question on a different forum heading I apologize in advance for the inconvenience of this novice type question.

I've never rigged a dead eel and would like to try fishing with one. I have read the thread that's on the How To Forum and have noticed that the hooks come out of the bottom of the fish.

I have recently watched Steve McKenna's Youtube video on How To Rig a Sluggo and so my question is this:

Can you rig a dead eel the same way as Steve rigs a Sluggo?

Thanks. Bruce.

Yes

Yes

But it takes a lot longer.

There's a book called "Secrets of Surfcasting at Night" with a good chapter on eel rigging by a guy named Al Bentsen.

just read that book. I got it thru the public library. Oak Bluffs had a copy.

Thanks all. I'm going to give it a try this weekend as well as check out that book.

Thanks for posting on my original question.

I finally had the time to try the rigged eel method and use the same rigging method that McKenna shows via youtube on the Sluggo.

I also ended up tying the mouth shut along with tying at the hook bends so that it stayed secure.

Many casts later there ended up to be two problems:

1) What's a good way to tie the mouth shut as that came undone rather quickly? I just used a piece of dacron line and each time around did an overhand knot ending w/ a square knot.

2) The eel looked great in the water but swam upside down. I did have the hooks exposed on the top side of the eel which was my original intention and reason for using McKenna's Sluggo method, but I'm guessing that the weight of the hooks themselves forced them down. So, is there a way to correct how the eel "swims" so it can be right side up? Or, is the only way to do it is have the hooks exposed on the under side of the eel?

Thanks for your expertise and input.

Bruce.

Do a search on S-B
there are lots of good discussions on it

hooks have to come out the underside of the eel if you want it to swim right side up

if the knots came untied, then its your knots (some people wrap the dacron in rigging floss to protect the knots). if the head of the eel slid down the hook but the knots stayed tied, you need to attach something to the shank of the hook that holds the head in place when the mouth is tied shut

I rig them SIMILARLY, but not IDENTICAL. I also nylon snap ties to secure the hook as well as thread to secure the eel (through the eye of the hook)

The hooks are the rigged eels keel. Which ever side they are on will swim down.

Some people sew the mouth closed with a needle and thread.

I can see why a rigged eel would be better than a wood plug, but is there ever a time when someone would prefer a riiged dead eel over a LIVE eel? Im not talking about the convenience or money-saving factors, im talking pure fish-catching ability... I have saved dead eels, and everytime Im about to rig some, I just end up buying some live eels instead... the way I see it is, my time spent out fishing is valuable, and if fishing a live gives me a better shot, its worth the 10$ worth of eels for the night...

if you need casting distance
sometimes they seem to hit riggies harder, and on nights they are being spooky and dropping live eels, I've hooked them on rigged...

i think it was zeno that posted about someone asking al bentson what the difference was between fishing a riggie and a live eel. "about 20 lbs" was al's response. pretty high praise from a pretty good source.

I couldnt believe the size of the hooks i saw on a riggie this weekend. Had to be about 10/0, granted it was a big eel. Made to weed through the smaller fish. How long will one last? Can you just put em back in salt repeatedly?

I have a hard time believing a rigged is NOTICEABLY more effective than a live... I just dont. slightly more effective on certain nights under certain conditions, sure... i continue fishing eels as long as theyre on the hook... sometimes an hour after they are dead, no tail curl, and get a fish... I guess the way I see it is if a rigged is good, a live of fresh dead is better. maybe I'm just uninformed or inexperienced...I'm just speculating here

I disagree.
I think the rigged eels are much more productive then live one. In fact ,I havent fished a live one in years.
Why?
You can control the rig eel ,from depth to swimming motion, you cant do much with live one especially if he wants to go

My new book had a long chapter on fishing and rigging eels with ton of rigging pictures .Its written by Many Moreno ,a guy that I consider probably the best fisherman I ever had a pleasure of standing next to and casting. Actually ,I usually leave quickly before spanking gets too bad. The chapter is his spin on rigging and after trying it ,I have to say its better then one I used for years
I don't lavish praise on many surfcasters ,or their skills ,in fact ,I find that after few years under the belt ,most of us are more or less equal.
Many on the other hand is way out of my orbit. Oh yeah ,he'll also tie a rigged eel directly and fish it for a whole tide for one crack at big fish....and he usually gets it.

Steve McKenna also has a very informative chapter on rigging sluggos.....these two fine gentlemen put some hurting on the fish over the years :laugha:

I have heard and actually seen that bluefish do not go after old rigged eels. John R was there that night and had some live eels chopped. Of course that night there were no stripers or at least none that were hungry. They might have been further out eating bunker the blues chopped the tails off.

RIRockhound wrote the best article on rigging that I ever read. I have rigged eels the "old" way for 40 years. Tried Bryan's way and I'll never go back. It involves using small wire ties and a swivel on the front hook. I forgot where the article was published but it was either "The Fisherman" or OTW. Takes about 5 minutes and the riggies stay together forever.

they fish better than live eels in rough conditions or strong cross winds, when keeping in contact with a live eel is almost impossible

i think the biggest things are that they stay down better in many conditions and the control that you have over them, as zeno said. the control and finness are definately something that i need alot of work on.

it often seams like smaller fish either choose not to hit them or aren't big/strong enough to suck them down and get hooked (i've caught 14" fish on 16" live eels, not so with big riggies), allowing bigger fish to be weeded out

sometimes, in a really fast bite, i've noticed that i can catch more fish than the guy next to me with live eels simply because i can get fish in, off, released and be casting again quicker than they can. On a few occasions, this lead to weeding out the bigger fish.

RIRockhound wrote the best article on rigging that I ever read. I have rigged eels the "old" way for 40 years. Tried Bryan's way and I'll never go back. It involves using small wire ties and a swivel on the front hook. I forgot where the article was published but it was either "The Fisherman" or OTW. Takes about 5 minutes and the riggies stay together forever.

I couldn't rig an eel to save my life. The method Bryan outlined is very easy and works very well.

Thanks for all the follow up information.

The hook was staying in the eel's mouth just fine so I'll find a better way to tie the mouth shut.

I am going to assume here that one doesn't want to fish the eel upside (true?) down so next time I'll use the same method of rigging but put the hooks underneath. Some of the areas I fish I get hooked up if the hooks are beneath the eel/lure as I'm trying to find the bottom.

I would be very interested in knowing how to find RIRockhound's method in writing along with Zeno's referenced chapter on it.

Thanks!

[QUOTE=Zeno;632877]I disagree.
I think the rigged eels are much more productive then live one. In fact ,I havent fished a live one in years.

Absolutely. The big fish slam a rigged eel. I don't know why but they seem really pissed off at a riggie. I have had more than one night when I out fished guys who were throwing live eels and plugs with one of my riggies.

RIFOOSEBALL< That's where I got the idea for rigging the sluggo. I fished and rigged alot of eels, pre-sluggo. The eel takes alot more time than the sluggo though. They are both very, very effective . See PM

RIFOOSEBALL< That's where I got the idea for rigging the sluggo. I fished and rigged alot of eels, pre-sluggo. The eel takes alot more time than the sluggo though. They are both very, very effective .

It doesn't have to!

Thanks for the bon mots guys.
My rigging technique stems from being lazy and pressed for time a lot:btu:

Rigged eels have two hooks instead of one on a live eel. rigged eels can be cast visciously without coming off allowing you to work a bigger area. yes rigged eels can be thawed and refrozen and rethawed , etc.

Rigged eels are better , IMO its primarily do to the second hook and the extra hookups that result from haing the tail hook.

Some people use the argument that bass hit head first so the tail hook doesn't matter. When people say that , i know they are talking through their butts and have never fished a rigged eel.

I'll agree that rigged eels will outproduce live one 90% of the time for many reasons. They are a bitch to tie and then all it takes its one looke from a yellow eye and they are gone :-)

one reason I think bass slam riggies is that they are moving faster so the bass has to attack it where the live eel is fished so slow and after awhile are almost dead they can just slurp the live ones up.In other words the dead rigged eel looks more alive and fleeing then the live slow moving eel.As far as the second hook when the bass hits and you set up sometimes you pull the first hook out w/out a hook set the second hook so close to the first,that it will catch the out side of the fishes mouth.just a thought

I can see why a rigged eel would be better than a wood plug, but is there ever a time when someone would prefer a riiged dead eel over a LIVE eel? Im not talking about the convenience or money-saving factors, im talking pure fish-catching ability... I have saved dead eels, and everytime Im about to rig some, I just end up buying some live eels instead... the way I see it is, my time spent out fishing is valuable, and if fishing a live gives me a better shot, its worth the 10$ worth of eels for the night...

Ivan,
Clogston touched on some of the reasons why and when a rigged would/could be a better choice. Wind in your face or crosswind and a heavy sweep will often allow a rigged eel to make the better presentation and I carry them when faced with these conditions. I have three ways that I rig eels and each has a specific application and set of conditions when I use them.

As far as saying that rigged will produce better than live by a wide margin - those statements are very broad and I'm sure those that say that have reasons to think that way, though it make's me think that some of the guys might be missing something when they are fishing live eels. I for one would tend to disagree. There is a lot more to live eels then cast and retrieve.

DZ

Actually you can fish rigged eels dead slow cause they will not tangle the line like a live on which tends to ball up if you don't keep it heading in.

I think the only thing a live one has as an advantage is that it twitches when the bass grabs it that must feel like the thing trying to get away to a bass. I think this makes the bass grab harder and swallow.

This is a small advantage though and is way out weighed by the many other bigger advantages of the rigged eel already stated above.

i think we can all agree they are a pain to rig though.

[QUOTE=Saltheart;633324]I think the only thing a live one has as an advantage is that it twitches when the bass grabs it that must feel like the thing trying to get away to a bass. I think this makes the bass grab harder and swallow.
QUOTE]

That is certainly one advantage, but i think there are others. I actually think live ones can be fished more effectively at slow speeds, especially if you smack their tail on a rock to prevent eel balls.

Drifting in an outflow or strong cross current is one application that I see live eels being much better. Also, fishing in calm conditions, or when there's alot of fire in the water (when just letting the eel sit can be the most effective). Casting onto or over a piece of structure and allowing the wave action or current wash a live eel off and into where the bass are waiting is another good live eel application that doesn't work as good with a rigged IMO.

Each has their place, and figuring out when to use each is part of the fun.

[/Quote] That is certainly one advantage, but i think there are others. I actually think live ones can be fished more effectively at slow speeds, especially if you smack their tail on a rock to prevent eel balls.

Drifting in an outflow or strong cross current is one application that I see live eels being much better. Also, fishing in calm conditions, or when there's alot of fire in the water (when just letting the eel sit can be the most effective). Casting onto or over a piece of structure and allowing the wave action or current wash a live eel off and into where the bass are waiting is another good live eel application that doesn't work as good with a rigged IMO.

Each has their place, and figuring out when to use each is part of the fun.[/QUOTE]

Clogston,
I now know for sure that you "get it". Keep learning.

DZ

If your plan is to fish them in an outflow , then it may be worth rigging them with a tin squid. In fact , that is the only time when I think a squid should be used on a rigged eel.