mode of transport
 

ok so how do you take your live eels out to fish on your person in the surf ??

Soft sided cooler with an ice pak or bag of ice. I also poke hole in the plastic insert to drain some of the slime away

I use a Aqua Skinz eel bag

Ditto.
I don't like the mesh bag unless I'm deep wading

They live in the small cooler in the bakc of my truck in a three-bucket system w/ ice

I use the aquaskinz mesh bag....makes it easier to cruise around on the rocks

soft side 6 pack cooler

Second the small cooler with an ice pack. Put damp newspaper in the bottom and wrap the ice pack with damp newspaper. Put the eels in the cooler a few hours before you start fishing. This way they will seem almost dead but once they hit the water they wake up.

If you buy the right cooler bag it will have a pocket in the front for terminal tackle and the top will open so you can store 6 or so plugs in it.

I think Back Beach just holds them in his mouth... by the head lightly with his teeth. The Skoal supposedly stuns them so they won't knot up on ya. He can fit about 12-14 in there......though most normal guys max out at around 3.

I use a mesh bag when im going deep, soft sided cooler if im staying dry. My buddy uses a soft sided pouch used for carrying pencils and crayons for kids. He swears by em.

you can always just drop them down your waders if your wearing a wader belt:laughs:

the mini softsided coolers,
i place the eeels in there and then
place the whole thing in the fridge
hours before i'm ready to hit the surf.

to separate the slime i took a piece of
2X10 and cut it to fit the inside of the cooler,
cut opposite corners in it, and drilled 25-30 holes
in the wood to allow the slime to drain. then i
stainless steel screwed two legs to the bottom.

so before i go to get my snakes,
i drop a full tray of ice under the wooden "drain table",
sometimes sum seaweed on top ~~but not essential.

in the front pocket i keep my eel rags{old tshirts},
some green scouring pads{DZ style}, and the top opening
is great for checking the status or throwing sum escapees back in!!

hope this helps :btu: :wavey: :btu:

I remember reading Frank Daignault's (hope i didn't butcher his last name) book, and him saying he used to tuck them in his shirt and pull them out as needed. Now that is dedication!!!! I love eels but not enough to stuff them in my shirt...

This year I'm going with aquaskiz pouch and ice pack, along with a tip from Steve McKenna to place individual eels in ziplock bags.

I used to just let NIGHTPROWLER carry mine, he had this sweet cooler with a velcro top that worked really well.

My only issue with the small cooler approach, is that it's hard to find a small cooler with a zipper that's worth a heck. They all seem to break so fast.

-spence

Go to wally mart and buy one for about $14. with a heavy plastic zipper. Make sure it also has the plastic insert, pouch on the front and a expandable top for plugs. The one I use will be starting it's forth season this year.

I think thats a great idea gona try that one but has anyone used sawdust keeps the slime away all together I heard

stole the pouch/ice pack idea from WoodyCT, who had no problem rigging up at Cutty when I was struggling getting them out of my mesh bag.

I need to find something i can put on my belt for this season. i use the aquaskinz bag but only to grip them instead of a scoring pad or something like that. I might go with "f#%ny pack" this year. Anyone find a good durable cooler?

I use the 2 bucket system to keep them most of the time if I don't want to set up the big cooler with pump for the long term - big trick I found was putting a layer of bubbleweed over the eels to avoid direct contact with the ice.

Last year I started using a couple of handfuls of the weed over the eels in my soft-sided lunch cooler with a small cold cold pack on top of that - seems to keep them less stressed when they're covered and away from direct contact with the cold pack meaning they'll survive longer for another trip if you don't use them all that night.

I saw a soft lunch cooler bag at Wallyworld that had a good velcro closure for the top - that will be my eel bag for this coming season - a lot easier than fumbling with the zipper tops in the dark -

:agree: :agree: :agree:

DITTO, Chuck, on the two bucket system!

however, that is usually when i pruchase dozens of eels
and am planning on fishing for two or three days straight and
don't want to have to keep returning to the B&T. they ride just fine
in the passenger's floorboard; from there i'll pull 4 or 5 for
the softsided cooler to take to the rocks of an udl,,,,,,,,,,,

i also use the bubbleweed, the only difference with the ice is what the Mayor of CTown once showed me,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i place a bag of ice on top of the eeeeels and change the buckets often. i also use black buckets, i dunno if there's any science to back it up, but it seems to add to the calming factor
~~along with the bubbleweed, of course :bl: :bl: :bl:

here's sum pix of my softsided cooler insert, seems to work for me.
be sure to wet the "slime drainer" with some cool tap water pre-eeeeeels.

Too much extra weight BD.
Throw them in there with an ice pack or frozen water bottle and they keep fine for all night Then return them to the buckets in my cooler.
K.I.S. is my motto!

1 gallon plastic mayo jar with holes drilled in the bottom and top. 1/4" rope crimped around it with a snap that clips on my belt. Throw the eels in with a dozen ice cubes and you are good to go.

Ditto don't have a snap on mine for the belt which is a good idea.mine just goes over my shoulder the lid is attached the the bucket with a small shoe string so not to loss it also I put my holes on the side that way I can just tip the bucket when I feel the need to get rid of any slime.I hate the mesh bags if it's windy you have to keep dunking them they are a pain to open and shut while on a rock at least for me.

it's K.I.S.S.:jump:

3rd that 2 bucket system

I didn't want to call anyone, least of all my self, Stupid.
Hence K.I.S. Keep It Simple instead of Keep It Simple Stupid!

hey Bryan,

thanks for the suggestion and
for leaving off the last S,,,,,,,,,
:btu: :btu: :btu:

i know that it's prolly a little anal;
however, the weight is a non-issue for me
and it does "seem" to help to preserve them
say for the next night and the night after and so on.

i've yet to try the mayo jar, piemma.
so faaaar, so gooood with the mini coolers.
:grins: :grins: :grins:

Me... softsided cooler on belt... Holes burned in bottom to let slime drain. I keep them on ice and I mean ON ICE for a solid 18 hours. no problem as long as it can drain. They sit at my desk all day before heading out. Zippers fail, but they're cheap enough. I use a inside out sock as a rag. Ask shadow... it's got MOJO.

You mean the lid USUALLY attached... don't you?:hihi:

Soft sided cooler with a mesh bag inside. I use old water bottles that I freeze to keep them cool. I throw the bottles away (recycle them) after each use instead of having to wash the slime off of an ice pack. I also dump out the water in them to save on weight once all of the eels are gone.