Good Advice John, but it does get to be frustrating now & then being hung up alot of the time... :smash:

I'll keep at it until I catch large!...

Has anyone seen or heard hyde nor hair from Greg?...


How has he been?...

I think last weekend was his daughter's wedding in which case I think Mr & Mrs GB need some unwinding :)

Bliz - have you been casting and retrieving eels? Or just chunking them?

Maybe try one of those wormblowers to try and keep it off the bottom a little bit. I beleive you will have more luck on the bottom because that is the natural habitat for the eels.(match the hatch) As far as the eel balls go I keep the eels in the bottom of a bucket with a sealed bag of ice so that the bag does not leak as it melts. The ice will slow the eels down quite a bit. I rub my hands in the sand before handling the eels to give myself a little more grip. To decrease my number of eel balls I get I will take the eel right before I put it on the hook I will whack its tail rather hard against the rim of the bucket. This seems to semi stun the back half of the eel to the point that you still get action but limited number of eel balls. I drift my eel out slowly usually fishing rips. When the eel is at the back of the rip I close the spool and retreive SLOWLY keeping the eel on the bottom. When I get a hit I drop the rod tip and freespool to let the fish run then depending on if I'm using circle hooks or not I set up on the fish appropriately. Good luck

I have been fishing eels both ways recently.

However, the problems I encounter are when drifting them.

I have been drifting & retrieving where there is a good amount of current .

I would cast upstream of the current and let the eel drift it's way down.

The problems I encounter are when the eel works it's way down into the water column & wraps me up on the rocks and multiple lines that have been cut off by others

This particular area which appears to have been fished pretty heavily over the course of time.

I think my priomary issue is that I need to find better spots to fish with eels... :smash:

especially when drifting them...

Maybe try casting to different spot and start your drift from a different area, even try casting from a different spot. Changing either one of these approaches may keep the eel up off the bottom just long enough to get your bait over the discarded line and hang-ups. It really sounds like you need to find a different area to fish eels:rolleyes: Another thing you might try is to use a foam bobber type of system that will let the eel swim naturally but keep it just up off the bottom. Good Luck

You need a good current if you'r going to free drift your eels - like a breachway, tidal pond dump or a good riptide. If you can reach a decent rip you can work it in and out along and down the rip to find fish but unless you have some good moving water it's not wise to just let it sit. You gotta work it like a plug. And if you consider that a third of your bass on eels will be within 20' of shore you want to work it like a plug anyway... All drifing eels from shore does is allow you to cover more/different area when there is enopugh current to do it.

For this make sure you keep the line just tight enough that you can control it as it gets down. Don't just cast it and dead stick it...

We gotta go fishing so we can discuss that other thing too! I want to get that ball rolling....

OK , now that the superglue idea is thoroughly explred (and forgotten I hope!! :) ) Lets discuss reality.


In addition to what John said , try to remmeber that even when drifting , its nice to keep the eel pointing at you. as long as you are pulling , even a little , on the head to keep it pointing towards you , they won't get tangles. So when drifting , you got to let the line out at a rate that lets the eel move out but still keeps it pointing towards you. Just opening the bail and letting it tumble along freely will get you all balled up. You can still let it ride the current and keep it under control if you practice . Always feel it pulling on the line.

Try going to a beach with no current and casting out. Using an Ambassaduer 6500 reel , you should retrieve the eel at a rate that takes about ten seconds for one turn of the handle. That;s very slow and that's what you want. get a feel for how much pull that puts on the eel. now when in the current , let line out so you maintain about the same amount of pull that you did when slowly retieving on the beach at the rate I described.

In addition to keeping the eel untangled , you'll also be in touch with it better for when you get a hit.

i think mr Kav was on the right track with wendys chilli. all you have to do is feed the eel and then get one of those foam ear plugs and stuff it into the eels bung hole:laughs:

Thanks for the advice gents!... I have only started using eels this year, and it's already been an experience...

I appreciate your letting me glean from the collective experience of all of you on this site ~ it's been extemely helpful!

... and humerous Redcrbbr!...

As for getting out to grab some evening Bass... I would like to hook up with you John, and also with you Mike for some jigging!

Let me know when is best for either of you, and I'll try to hook up for some fishing...

I need to find a repair kit, as I have yet to wade out anywhere in a dry pair of waders :smash: :smash:

why not dip your ells in pine tar so they stick to the inside of the basses ( is that a word? ) mouth when they suckthem in. Then it will take them longer to spit them out and you will have lots of time to set the hook. Ill have to try that when chunkin squid.:laughs:

:rolleyes: Thanks...

It's been alot of fun so far!...