In all my years, I've never seen eels in the bass' stomach . . .
 

. . . but this Saturday night changed all that.

I have seen lobsters, scup, herring, mackerel, scup and sea robins, but never the eels like we use/sling for bait in the bellies. This past Saturday night changed all that as I had found one eel in one belly and 2 in another. Surprised me. Has anyone else?

They must eat the eels since they always love mine.

I never found an eel either. Years ago mostly lobsters. The last few years nothing.

Never an eel. My favorite is the mantis shrimp. when I first found one I figured the bass was scavenging the wreckage of a UFO crash.

Never caught a bass with an eel it's stomach. Lobsters all the time - sometimes some silversides, small mehhaden, bay anchoy. I found needlefish in one (the fish, not the lure).

Yeha last season I had a bass with 2 ells in the belly, caught it on a mackerel head on humarock beach. Almost every fish I have caught in that area is LOADED with crabs in it's belly, harly ever anything else. a few weeks ago I got one with 9 2inch crabs. Makes me think when you chunk the crabs chewing on the bait may actually help with attrecting the fish

Entrance to the Jones River years ago.
Bass with an eel in its stomach.

After I had found the eels, I looked to see if they might have been the ones we lost from casting or from catching however, there were none of the telltale hook-holes or ripped-lips on any of the 3 eels as one bass had 2 and another had 1 in the belly and all the eels were definitely that whitish color from the acids digesting the skins, hmmmmmm

prob why eels are so damn effective, they are like a rare striper treat, so the fish jump at them when they see them!

I always say the eels are like Twizzlers are to kids. Like throwing them out to an Elementary School Assembly. No bones, nothing hard, just a nice-soft candy-treat!

I'm guessing they digest more rapidly. Striper popsicles.

I have caught one bass with an eel in its stomach but I don't keep that many fish.

that was my thought... makes me arse pucker thinking about passing a crab or lobster.... but an eel... smooth sailing :rotf2:

I've seen a couple. I think an eel is a harder meal for a bass to catch if you think about it. They are very quick and stay very close to the bottom structure and can easily hide. I think that has something to do with it anyway. Even a lobster can be easily caught by hand while walking along the rocks but an eel is like a NINJA:shocked:

Back when flipping eels on the back was the way to go I used to get quite a few bass with eels in their bellies (and bluefish coughing them up too). Whether they were forage, cast offs, escapees or releases, who knows? But I have not seen one in a few years now.

Nuttin new:devil2: