Doe eel fishing reaaly better than chunk bait fishing????

[chingweiliao]

Hi S-B friends:

I knew many of you have successful experience using eel which I don't even I fished at a known area that big fish are feeding around!

I was out yesterday at the jetty and tried drifting eel around the rocks near jetty , in the ebb current of the river and pockets of the jetty rock for nearly two hour after light---I dirft the eel at outgoing tide and slowly retrive it (just to break the ice to make sure eel work). Within this two hour, I have one strike which is a major trembling through my rod--I put my reel always in bait-running mode but barely hold my spider line in my inder figer. And right after that trembling action, I let go my figer on the line so the fish can pull freely out with very minor drag from bait runner. And I did count to five and set the hook. I did not catch anything except I have a dead eel on my hand with tail obviously cut by something. After that, I was really tired of eel fishing, so I change to cut bait and caught 24, 28 and 37 inches bass right away within 30 minutes.

I was really wonder whether eel fishing is better then chuk fishing at all. --May be I miss some techniques in eel fishing . Please share and give me a few advices here, many thanks


Regards,

Ching-Wei lIao

[Fishpart]

One Half Eel means bluefish. Both eels and chunks are good methods. There are some that say eels are a BIG fish bait.

[TheSpecialist]

CWL you are doing it right. Use a slow retrieve on the eels. When you think you are going slow enough, slow down some more. Like fishpart said if there was a chunk of eel gone it was probably a bluefish. I have been having success using a Gamakatsu 5/0 octopus hook. It is slightly offset, and the fish seem to hook themselves. I just stop reeling and drop the tip, then start reeling again.

[chingweiliao]

Hi fishpart and Hi specialist:

Now both of my eel are dead, one with missing tail the other is drown--I probably put the other one into fresh water and it frown (I dod not know how to keep it alive)

I am wonder should I thorw them away or they are still good for SB fishing !


Thank you for your information!

Ching-Wei Liao

[viking1]

With fresh dead eels I still work them over the rocks with light rod action,a jig action.I dont like wastin bait

[shawn_in_MA]

CWL what were you chunking with?? Pogey, mackerel, herring??

[JohnR]

Six of one, half dozen of the other.... Both are very productive methods. IMO, chunking is better for daytime (and pretty good at night) and eeling is poor from shore during the day but much better at night.

Eels can be worked much like a plug. You have the advantages of live bait plus the advantages of a plug that you can cast often enough where you want it. You can cast an eel between or ofver some rocks or work an eddy far better than with chunk bait that the fish more or less, must go to in order to find. The eel covers much more potenetial area. Eeling also lends itself better to rocky areas than chunking. It is also easier to move around with a light load eeling than when chunking with a bait bucket, cutting board, knives, etc etc... As eels are live, with some minimal preparation, they can be kept alive and they will often survive several fish and still be alive...