You could build a Keep Cool Eel bucket!! And never throw away a eel for weeks.
I have one and its great!! I told everyone about them a while ago and some have made them. You can go and see it in the How to section of this board!
30 odd years ago there was an outfit that rigged eels and they were sold by the Bait & Tackle Shops in glass jars. They were pickled in brine and would be right stiff when first starting to use them but by dunking and working them in your hand they would soon flex almost like a live eel.
Sorry I can't reach back into my brain and come up with a name of the outfit that packaged them but someone might recall!