The dilemma as I see it: at least in my experience, the amount of ice a surfcaster can easily carry, does not do much to slow down "frisky" eels during the hooking process! The second they feel that hook- point, ice or no, they go bonkers for me every time! So I gave up on carrying ice... who needs more weight when walking miles of beach?
The ultimate best solution I've found is to use live, but "non- frisky" eels! These are my favorite-- for me, these are the dozen or so that've been in my cooler for 2- 3 days. As long as they curl up after hooked, & retain the curl each retrieve, they're fine to use-- better even than "frisky" ones IMO!
But I'm a firm believer in never "wacking" eels, even frisky ones! They do die much more quickly after doing so-- a non- wacked eel can be cast for an hour+ often & not die, if never hit! And I know for sure good Bass can still easily catch these frisky non- wacked eels: I've caught hundreds of 20+ lb. Bass on eels from the great Backside... and nary a rock to wack an eel on if I wanted to North of Chatham!
Key is to get the frisky eel into the water ASAP after hooking: like in one second! I false- cast & put him right at my feet in the water to calm him down immediately... (figure- 8'ing him with the rod tip)... then quick/ snap cast him out after 10- 30 seconds before he knows what's going on! Doing this eel- balls/ snarls (for me) are rare-- but some will always happen, it's just part of the game...
