[eelman]

Yup, every situation is different, the most readily avalible "live" bait for shore fisherman is the Live eel, thats why in my opinion its the best. Bunker just do not present themselves all the time for a Surfcaster, if they did then hands down that would be the winner....Secondly yo-yo from the beach just isnt possible....Now if I could have fresh from the ocean bunker on a daily basis, I would chunk it and say goodbye to eels....the key however is freshness, not the slush puppies you get in the bait shop, fresh dead chunked bunker is deadly. So is fresh squid etc... That is the stuff thats in there environment and thats what they eat...can't beat it. There are guys who go squiding in the spring then use that for some huge bass, there smart anglers and damn good fisherman.

The bottom line in my opinion is that Nothing can beat live bait or fresh dead bait, over the course of time the bait fisherman is going to win hands down. There is an art to Chunking and eel fishing just like everything else, the masters of it do so well it would surprise anyone.


here is somethin you may or may not have tried that works like majic...Take a whole Squid, cut the belly open and insert a piece of styrofoam, sew it shut with dacron ,ahead of a leader about 3 or 4 feet long and behind a barrel swivel place an egg sinker of the weight of your choice(enough to hold and bounce bottom) The styrofoam will hold the squid up and present like the real think as it bounces along the bottom...its deadly...very deadly...You dont use a sand spike and watch, you acually "fish this rig" Climbing out on a sandbar or rocky area and casting up current and letting it bounce along.......it get inhaled.

There are many tricks to bait fishing its not at all "deadsticking"....bait is killer when used the right way