Catching eels
 

So with the shortage of eels and me just buying my first home on the Cape.. im broke as #$&#..
Could someone give me some basic tips on how to go about catching eels. My plan so far is to places some minnow traps with pogies in them in some fresh water streams that connect a pond and the ocean..ones that pretty much have herring runs in them?

Does that seem like an ok places to start? Should i be closer to the ocean or the pond?
Any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

PMs are cool as well.

Sounds to me like a good start, some ponds by my house hold Eels, as do the tidal estuaries, don't over look rivers that dump into the ocean or bays. Check your local regs about eeling.
I hear that horseshoe crabs, crushed up are good bait, as well as mussels. Pogies, should attract as well....good luck

Eel trap. Canned cat food.

Thanks for the help and PMs guys il keep you posted on how i turn out..

yeah...eel trap with horseshoe crabs split up.

I may be joining the potting parade as it looks bleak for eels this fall. You will have to really hide your keeper. guys will raid your keeper when things get desperate. Don't let people see you pull it up.

Salt ponds, canals, lagoons etc.

Eels have a prefered habitat like any fish look for them where you would expect to find stripers around bridge abutments brakewaters small rips and rock piles.

You need an insert in the minnow trap to make it longer. Otherwise the eel will enter the trap but leave it tail out in the opening and then it can easily find its way back out again.

No you don't... I routinely STUFF standard minnow traps with eels... eels... in fact recently I had so many eels in a standard minnow trap that it popped the snap as i pulled it onto the dock... I use these in conjunction with the standard comercial eel trap to capture more trolling sized eels...

I just started getting into trapping them myself. Made up some homemade traps and have been searching for good areas to set them for eels. So far I have only caught two huge eels, too big to throw but they made nice skins for some GRS pikies. Any truth to them being less active this time of year due to the heat? I was told that I will have better luck once it cools down some.