September National Geographic-eels
 

Interesting article in there this month about eels.

Old Norman of West Tisbury-- Eelman
 

Norman Benson and son of James Pond, W. Tisbury, supplied generations of Island stripermen, and decades of Derby participants in their era. So, I learned eeling from the best! I had the privilege to make pots and pull pots with them.

I thought it laughable that a resident striperman would actually buy eels rather than get their own...until these last few years. I tried once again two weeks ago: two pots in each of three different, formerly proven and abundant locations...ONE EEL huge enough for a skinplug and that was it. Now I think that buying them at $2.00 apiece is actually a BARGAIN, because they are no longer locally available. They are gone.

i read it today. Good article and great pics as always

I thought it was interesting, decline due to (among other things) predation by striped bass. The price for the "elvers" was:smash:.
I wonder who "harvests" them in Maine (said it was the only state that allows harvesting "glass eels" ? Also made me want to drive to Delaware to the "smoked eel shack".