Optimal size Eel for fishing??
 

What size eel do you like to fish with? I read online that the average size of the american eel is 18 inches. Is the average eel too large to fish with? I told myself that I would fish with eels more and trying to find out more about the best sizes to fish with.

Please make another post quickly :devil:

alot of factors effect the size of the eel i use, I'm strictly a cow stalker and dont care about #'s of fish caught or schoolies, I like using big eels, IMHO I catch less schoolies by using the larger ones, it's a matter of economics, small fish have a harder time eating the big bait..big fish want a meal worth the effort. (16-18" is good bye me)

The exception to the rule would be the nights when there is alot of fire in the water, these nights, a small bait often outfishes the big...

Another reason to use big bait is the knot factor, large eels are less likely to ball up.....

Is there a problem with the post? Did I ask the wrong question?

Hi Lurch :wavey:

Yeh, I'm not sure I get it either :huh:

Hi John!

I presume that it might be fishing with the american eel which may be put an a protective list????

Your Post count was 666

I like my eels pretty big, not huge congas, but big. I guess 18" is about right. I'm not crazy about smaller eels, not that they won't catch as well, but they are much more fiesty and tend to do that hated eel knot thing all the way up your %$#@ line, plus the larger ones cast better and seem to swim to the bottom quicker. Just make sure you rod can handle the weight of a larger eel, nothing worse than a graphite rod going off like a bullet in your hand when you try to lob a conga..:bshake:

I like the biggest eels I can get without cobra heads. Any sign of the cobra head is too big for me. Usually , that means about a 2.5 to 3 OZ eels.

Just to add, there is nothing wrong with using smaller eels, I know Billy(#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&) likes smaller ones and as you know, does well with them.

What rod do you use?
I like my Lami 1213M, it'll handle about any eel.

Ok thanks!

yes. no pets!:lasso:

Lami 1322. I was also asking because I want to throw eels with this rod and if the optimal eel cannot be thrown with the 1322 I would have to make adjustments. I have a 1203 and if the optimal eel was a small eel I would use the 1203.

:humpty:

Oh and when I use them I like the bigger ones, but often have a hard time getting em. Probably doesn't really matter, maybe more of an issue of casting weight.

eels are like boobs - some like'em small, some like'em big. I'm a medium man myself.

Lami 1322 is rated to throw up to 5oz.

Nah, I like Congas there..:bshake:

Actually, the 1322 throws eels very well.

If you're drifting them--say at the Canal, the Gut on MV or from a breachway--holding an 11' rod does get old, tho ;)

My favorite conventional eel rod, bar none, is the sweet 9' custom Loomis mike cc whipped up for me a few years back :btu::btu:

But I usually throw 2-3oz and sometimes lighter. the 1322 should work with bigger eels and if I cannot throw them far enough I can adjust and go with the lighter rod.

Good info guys thanks!

I find the smaller eels catch more and better fish than really big ones. JMO

14''-18" and fat

OK - now it makes sense.,... err, "Nothing to see here folks, move along..."

I always find it most fascinating how you guys remember the blank numbers for rods, like golfers using a nine iron or something. I have too much running through my pee sized brain for that kind of thing. I get lost as soon as someone mentions a 1022 or a 1208 or a GLB 1081M, and as far as relating those numbers to use as an eel rod, I am even more lost.

In answer to your original question, I have caught some monster bass on tiny eels at ten inches long and some on sled dogs that went 24 inches plus, I guess it just comes down to having the eel in the right place at the right time if the fish are in the mood they will eat it.

My dilemma right now is if they ban the use and taking of American eels could we still use skins if we got them on jigs and plugs?

make some rubber eel skins :)

Big fat mean eels, you know the type that wont ball up on you they just wrap up your arm from wrist to your elbow when you're hookin' em......with that sweet golden cream color on their sides that looks like half and half fogged with gold , that that wicked nice dark top mmmmmmmmmmm eels :humpty:

Thanks for the advice!...:tooth:

You welcome...:bshake:

4 or 5 times this year I switched eels from a larger to a smaller one (18" to 12") after nothing for a while. Everytime I hooked up, and these were all 20-25lb fish...
I think I reasoned it out with JoeP that the big eel was the teaser; like Marlin, it piqued their interest.. the smaller eel just looked edible...

I'm sold... my best size has always been 12-15"

Congers on conventional, and about 3-3.5oz for spinners .

I like them around 16" but I have a hard time getting them.