No eels? I quit.
Really though, I use mostly eels because I feel it is the best way to catch large in most cases, plus I hate treble hooks. You can argue less skilled fishermen will be hurt by no eels, and the real fishermen will shine, but it simply isn't true. Sometimes plugs are the only way to fish such as when you have a 30 knot wind in your face or the fish are way off the beach and a long casting plug is needed.Maybe you're in the canal with 50 feet of water in front of you and the fish are near the bottom. How much good will a live bait do you then? Also, if you fish mostly with plugs, then most of your large will come on plugs just by way of the relationship of time spent fishing with them versus other methods. I fish mostly eels in eel appropriate locations on eel tides with eel mentality and an eel rod, therefore most of my big fish come on eels and I would miss them, but I would adapt.
Sometimes a fly is the best way to catch them, sometimes jigs, sometimes eels. Its all about results for me, not the hows. Good question Toby.