Keeping them in sea water when fishing seems to make them even more difficult to get a hook into....I normally keep couple small pcs of towel kicking around on the deck to grab them with, drop one on the deck , cover with towel, grab behind head...
Not so last night, just couldn't do it... Got P O'd , stomped on him, slowed him down enough to set hook, may be a little too slow on a couple :-(

Soooooo, what's the trick?, how u's guys do it? If it's a secret don't worry I want tell anyone.

Green Brillo pad. Also keep them on ice.
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If you have ice in your cooler keep em in the bucket in there. Much more manageable. 3M scotch brite pads work well. Last night we hacked up some Newport Jerky shirts and used them as rags..
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when I used them back in the day .ice & burlap if needed ><><

Burlap is what I was first shown, and has always worked. Still has some grabbing texture after getting slimed up. Just have a problem finding it....

I ordered a box of bags at walmart>>>>>>>I use the bags for shellfish when hot .. when they get tired ,they get retired to covering fish to keep fresh in & out of the cooler & lastly I cover bait with them to keep prey from getting to the bait :kewl:

sand

sand
LOL good one

Thanks guys
May all your eels be lucky ones

Sand works. Unless you are on the boat ;)

If you use a buckets where ice drips over the eels, they are slowed down a lot...

If you know anyone who works for a landscaping center, tulip bulbs usually are shipped in a mesh bag (my experience has shown it's a yellow bag). That tulip mesh is the best eel grabber I have ever used. I have been using the same 3 pieces for over 3 years now.

Green Brillo pad. Also keep them on ice.
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Ditto. That's all you need to do.

Who hooks their own eel? Just have Nebe do it.

Burlap is what I was first shown, and has always worked. Still has some grabbing texture after getting slimed up. Just have a problem finding it....

Ocean State Job Lot had it by the 5' roll for around 6 or 7 dollars.


Also: www.burlapsupply.com/‎

first STOP PUTTING THEM IN WATER... they will suffocate AND DROWN IN THEIR OWN SLIME... use a double bucket... the "insert bucket" gets a bunch of holes ( 1/4") drilled in it.. if your a wuss. (or it's extremely hot) throw a bag of ice in the bucket.. put the eels "on ice"... it'll slow 'em down until they hit the water..I don't bother I just dump them in the bucket... if they dry out a bit they become "tacky" and most nights I don't even use a rag... if they get too dry a little dip in ocean water 'wet's" them and the water drains into the bottom bucket... during the times I do use a rag.. the red shop towels you buy at Wal-Mart or Auto palace work nicely......

I've showed this trick to countless people so pay attention...when I get my eels from the bucket a gentle approach letting them run over your fingers until you find the right one works best to keep them from being agitated ( agitated eels are like kids with a sugar buzz)...then scoop them up and roll them into position..with the underside facing you jamb your thumb HARD into the base of the skull where the jaw meets the skull.. if done properly you hit the nerve that runs along the spine and the eel will go limp... hook em up and toss them in the water QUICKLY because it is gonna be pissed once you release your grip... that work like a charm I can bait 3 lines in the time it take most guy's to find an eel in the bucket.. Slip and Paul both have seen me do it...

tight lines
Roc

first STOP PUTTING THEM IN WATER... they will suffocate AND DROWN IN THEIR OWN SLIME... use a double bucket... the "insert bucket" gets a bunch of holes ( 1/4") drilled in it.. if your a wuss. (or it's extremely hot) throw a bag of ice in the bucket.. put the eels "on ice"... it'll slow 'em down until they hit the water..I don't bother I just dump them in the bucket... if they dry out a bit they become "tacky" and most nights I don't even use a rag... if they get too dry a little dip in ocean water 'wet's" them and the water drains into the bottom bucket... during the times I do use a rag.. the red shop towels you buy at Wal-Mart or Auto palace work nicely......

I've showed this trick to countless people so pay attention...when I get my eels from the bucket a gentle approach letting them run over your fingers until you find the right one works best to keep them from being agitated ( agitated eels are like kids with a sugar buzz)...then scoop them up and roll them into position..with the underside facing you jamb your thumb HARD into the base of the skull where the jaw meets the skull.. if done properly you hit the nerve that runs along the spine and the eel will go limp... hook em up and toss them in the water QUICKLY because it is gonna be pissed once you release your grip... that work like a charm I can bait 3 lines in the time it take most guy's to find an eel in the bucket.. Slip and Paul both have seen me do it...

tight lines
Roc


This works!! Made the mistake once of eels in the live well. Now it's the two bucket system an red shop rag if needed.

Now if I can just catch them on my own.........

Sand, a burlap rag or a zip lock bag.

You can buy burlap in bulk at your local hardware store, Lowe's, Home Depot etc.

With a zip lock, hook the eel while it's in the bag and then pull it out.

Rig them after they die and hope the bluefish don't get to them. :eek:

Morto Anguilla by far the easiest ;)

Morto Anguilla

ha! like that name :)

ha! like that name :)

Give credit where credit is due - legendary surfcaster Tony Chiarappo told me that term about 15 years ago when we were discussing the increased effectiveness of dead eels over live at times in the pursuit of larger bass.

first STOP PUTTING THEM IN WATER... they will suffocate AND DROWN IN THEIR OWN SLIME... use a double bucket... the "insert bucket" gets a bunch of holes ( 1/4") drilled in it.. if your a wuss. (or it's extremely hot) throw a bag of ice in the bucket.. put the eels "on ice"... it'll slow 'em down until they hit the water..I don't bother I just dump them in the bucket... if they dry out a bit they become "tacky" and most nights I don't even use a rag... if they get too dry a little dip in ocean water 'wet's" them and the water drains into the bottom bucket... during the times I do use a rag.. the red shop towels you buy at Wal-Mart or Auto palace work nicely......

I've showed this trick to countless people so pay attention...when I get my eels from the bucket a gentle approach letting them run over your fingers until you find the right one works best to keep them from being agitated ( agitated eels are like kids with a sugar buzz)...then scoop them up and roll them into position..with the underside facing you jamb your thumb HARD into the base of the skull where the jaw meets the skull.. if done properly you hit the nerve that runs along the spine and the eel will go limp... hook em up and toss them in the water QUICKLY because it is gonna be pissed once you release your grip... that work like a charm I can bait 3 lines in the time it take most guy's to find an eel in the bucket.. Slip and Paul both have seen me do it...

tight lines
Roc

Joe is the eel master. No doubt about it
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first STOP PUTTING THEM IN WATER... they will suffocate AND DROWN IN THEIR OWN SLIME... use a double bucket... the "insert bucket" gets a bunch of holes ( 1/4") drilled in it.. if your a wuss. (or it's extremely hot) throw a bag of ice in the bucket.. put the eels "on ice"... it'll slow 'em down until they hit the water..I don't bother I just dump them in the bucket... if they dry out a bit they become "tacky" and most nights I don't even use a rag... if they get too dry a little dip in ocean water 'wet's" them and the water drains into the bottom bucket... during the times I do use a rag.. the red shop towels you buy at Wal-Mart or Auto palace work nicely......

I've showed this trick to countless people so pay attention...when I get my eels from the bucket a gentle approach letting them run over your fingers until you find the right one works best to keep them from being agitated ( agitated eels are like kids with a sugar buzz)...then scoop them up and roll them into position..with the underside facing you jamb your thumb HARD into the base of the skull where the jaw meets the skull.. if done properly you hit the nerve that runs along the spine and the eel will go limp... hook em up and toss them in the water QUICKLY because it is gonna be pissed once you release your grip... that work like a charm I can bait 3 lines in the time it take most guy's to find an eel in the bucket.. Slip and Paul both have seen me do it...

tight lines
Roc

3 bucket method is similar. Take 3.... 5 gallon buckets. Drill holes in the bottom of 2 of them. Put one holed bucket inside the unaltered bucket and place eels in this bucket with holes. Put the second holed bucket over the eels and fill with ice as needed. eels get an ice water bath and the bottom bucket collects so you don't get eel slime all over the place.

Give credit where credit is due - legendary surfcaster Tony Chiarappo told me that term about 15 years ago when we were discussing the increased effectiveness of dead eels over live at times in the pursuit of larger bass.

Sounds like the ingredient to an eely Italian sub.
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Pulling riggies out of the freezer is definitely my prefered method

3 bucket method is similar. Take 3.... 5 gallon buckets. Drill holes in the bottom of 2 of them. Put one holed bucket inside the unaltered bucket and place eels in this bucket with holes. Put the second holed bucket over the eels and fill with ice as needed. eels get an ice water bath and the bottom bucket collects so you don't get eel slime all over the place.

Not doubting its effectiveness... but I just tried imagine a wetsuit surfcaster using this setup. The visual is pretty funny ;)

If you have ice in your cooler keep em in the bucket in there. Much more manageable. 3M scotch brite pads work well. Last night we hacked up some Newport Jerky shirts and used them as rags..
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Maybe if his Jay's cheap ass gave us some jerky we would wear the shirts not cut em up for eel rags😬
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The best thing is keep them in a bucket in a cooler surrounded by ice. They go right to sleep and don't produce any slime. Just make sure you put a piece of 2x6 under the bucket if there gonna be in there for a while so the bottom doesn't get too cold.
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Maybe if his Jay's cheap ass gave us some jerky we would wear the shirts not cut em up for eel rags😬
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Exactly
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Some good info here , thanks

I take the eels from my eel hotel that are in a basket I made
63276

Basket
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Then the basket goes into the live well on das boat
63278

With a net I'll grab a couple and put them into a lunch box size cooler and keep on deck

Now I'm thinking ice in the cooler! With a chunk of 3m pad

If I had a jerky t shirt I probably wouldn't use it anyway, I think that guy is connected...

Ice, ice, ice, ice, ice. And a Scotchguard pad to handle them.

Did I mention ice? :hihi:

If you google search "medium duty scouring pad" there's a brand out there that is exactly the same as that scotch brite stuff. But the no name brand comes in a box of twenty pads, each pad is 6"x9" (which I cut into three 6"x3" pads) .

All together comes out to a tiny fraction of the price of the name brand. Each pad only lasts a night of eel fishing, (sometimes you need two pads on a busy night). But now they cost pennies, so you don't mind using and tossing.

And yes, ice helps a ton
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Just use plugs
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Just use plugs
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Good one, didn't think of that :huh:

My 13" Mega Jerk Ledge Runner was all I ever needed to replace the eels I used to keep in a black trash barrell in my basement to keep them cool. When the pump failed while the family was away on vacation and some guys jigging the canal were looking for more length, I carved the 13" jerk and never bought another eel. I can still smell what we came back to, nothing worse then dead eels decaying a barrel of foul water for a week.

I'm kinda late but this thread is funny.

As stated by Joe who is an expert on the subject by far - not a good idea to keep them in water. Those flow-troll bait buckets, sold at walmart for like 7 bucks are perfect, keep them in there, give them a rinse every now and then (dunk in water, turn upside down to drain)..

Anyway though, all I every do is stick my hand in, grab an eel, if I got it good I stick the hook in, if it's not cooperating I drop it onto the deck, then I grab the eel with a rag. If you grab 'em right just behind the neck and are quick to get the hook in there there's no need for a rag and certainly there is never a need for a brillo pad! :)

Jon

Sand, a burlap rag or a zip lock bag.

With a zip lock, hook the eel while it's in the bag and then pull it out.
:eek:

Old timer I used to eel with on the outer cape used to do this all the time. Small "snack" sized ziploc bag. Just hooked them and pulled them from the bag. He would keep the pockets of his fly vest stocked with them when wading or carried a mesh bag on his side with the bagged eels in that.

Just a rag. Grab the SOB behind the head like you mean it and hook it up.
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3 bucket method is similar. Take 3.... 5 gallon buckets. Drill holes in the bottom of 2 of them. Put one holed bucket inside the unaltered bucket and place eels in this bucket with holes. Put the second holed bucket over the eels and fill with ice as needed. eels get an ice water bath and the bottom bucket collects so you don't get eel slime all over the place.

this is what i have been doing too . my only difference is i have a spigot with a short hose in the bottom bucket for water and slime run off . keeps eels for as long as i want to .

Morto Anguilla by far the easiest ;)

:hihi:

Double bucket with a bottom "partial" bucket insert posted by macojoe years ago (I believe originally). Insert one bucket into another and fasten with wing nuts at 90 degrees at the top of the lower bucket. Punch 1/8 holes in the bottom of upper bucket and cut a 1/4" hole on side (at bottom) of lower bucket and fit with rubber stopper. Cut the bottom off a 3rd bucket low enough to sit below the top of the upper bucket when placed on top of the wing nuts. Fill the top ) partial bucket bottom with ice (call it a tray). Lift the tray and put your eels in what is now the middle bucket. Pull rubber stopper to drain melted ice/slime. Put in stopper to transport with no mess. Use a standard bucket cover to cap the unit with a few holes for air. If you keep ice in the top tray the eels will last for days. I love mine even though I never get to use it. Thanks Joe!

Oh, and one more thing. Paper towel is the best way to grab the eel that I've ever tried. Nothing against the other suggestions, but it's how I was taught and if it ain't broke.....

Side note taught to me by some pretty awesome surf fishermen. If rock hopping, throw a couple eels in ziplock bags. Hook em right through the bag and tear the bag off the hooked eel. Genius.

Tight lines!