[BassDawg]

i feel your pain Pete. and i would do the same with a shop that cares so little about their eeeels and knows even less. fluctuating prices are not a good sign either. $1.50 to $1.75 is top dollar for me, this time of year,,,,,,,,,,will go up to $2.00 in the Fall, if i HAVE to.

curious about a coupla things, with these eeels
that die before you can get them to point B,,,,,,,

are you guys getting them under ice in a plastic bag immediately,
and not allowing any water to get to them; so they can slime themselves to death?

it has been super HOTT, lately, and i did have one die within seconds of leaving the tank. but, i have an excellent relationship with my eeeeel mongers. they don't even have to ask me what size i want anymore, and they actually check the eeels for livelyness before selling them to me. and if the Boss ain't in, i can self-serve. this DID NOT happen after one visit/season. and i've accepted my share of shoestrings in the beginning of each relationship.

here are some of the better places i've found to secure eeeeels from, providing they have Cowhunters available,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,please remember these shops are mostly at the mercy of the trappers, and sometimes
it's better to keep looking. also, riggies have saved the night for me more than once.

Quonnie B&T has NEVER let me down in SoCo,
Breachway B&T is top notch for eels ova there,
Sam's Bait is my choice for snakes in NPT,
Have never gotten eeeels at the Canal/Cape Cod???,
Go Pogy or Bob's Bait Shack in Winthrop for Hahbah slimers,
Tom's B&T is my go-to guy, 90% of my eeels, in Saugus,
Surfland USA is excellent and Kay and her staff, ACES, on PI.

the ones in green also have fresh bait at the ready,
as always, dependent on what is available to them. check these fine folks out.
calls ahead, requesting 16" to 18" product, after you've gotten to know them and them you,
is a good way to narrow the search and not disappoint once you do get there.