peanut bunker or eels?

[Rockport24]

Hey guys, I have kind of a newb question, up here on the North Shore the peanut bunker get in pretty thick starting around now and of course I have an assortment of smaller profile things to throw when they are around, BUT, for the cows, are eels and slugglos and the like after dark still the ticket this time of year? Or should I be fishing peanut bunker immitations at night also? I figure eels are always the ticket..but was wondering what you guys think.

[cheferson]

Ive had a lot of good nights fishing eels when theres clouds of peanuts around

[Canalman]

Stay with eels and you'll get your cow

[libassboy]

Stick with the eels, sluggos, surfhogs at nite. If you hit a blitz during the day try some smaller wood, but the cows will always single out the eels.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by libassboy

Stick with the eels, sluggos, surfhogs at nite. If you hit a blitz during the day try some smaller wood, but the cows will always single out the eels.

The presence of peanut bunker is way overrated IMO. Everyone gets excited over the peanuts, which is cool, but the eels at night will consistently take the largest fish. Most of the peanut blitzes are small and medium 7#-15# or so fish. The numbers can be big, but I'll take one large over 100 smalls every time.

[Clogston29]

stick with eels and sluggos and be patient. lots of small bait around my area right now and I took two high teen/low twenty pound fish last night, one on a sluggo and one on an 18" riggie.

[libassboy]

Back Beach im with ya 100pcent, its a great deal for the daytime blitzchasers with all the schoolies and blues you could want, but rarley do i find good fish.
One of the few times i did find bass of reasonable size was three or four falls ago when the cows showed up to pick off the dead peanuts lying on the beach after dark, the tide came in, washed the dead nuts into the surf, and the cows had an easy feast.

[eelman]

Use eels from May thru November....its all you really need All the other stuff is smoke and mirrors....want school bass..toss a plug....want cows...sling snakes.................................

[RIJIMMY]

I agree that eels are the way to go, but I disagree on the effect of the presence of bait. Find the bait (peanuts or whatever) and you'll find fish. The big ones may not be chasing the bait to the surface, but the bait will bring the bigger fish around.

[zacs]

Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&

Use eels from May thru November....its all you really need All the other stuff is smoke and mirrors....want school bass..toss a plug....want cows...sling snakes.................................

world record bass.... caught on plug

[eelman]

Originally Posted by zacs

world record bass.... caught on plug

Ya right and even a broken clock is right twice a day.....you want quality fish you use meat.Especially in Rhode Island...Go to any breachway and watch the clowns drift plugs and hoot and holler then take a look at the fish they ctach all thru the fall, 80% Bluefish 20% bass up to maybe 12lbs or so however most are dinks.Then some guy nails a 20lber and thinks thats a big deal....the guys tossing eels along the beach are taking much larger bass.

Hey pluggin is fun at times and it cant be beat for numbers of fish, I like it now and then also...but when I am looking for a good bass its eels all the way...

Oh ya and Al McReynolds is one of the luckiest guys on earth, cause it certainly aint his skill that caught that fish...right place, right time...every now and then the tail wags the doggie, I wouldent call him a "sharpie" in any sense of the word acually he most likely used bait but stuck a plug in the fishes mouth for the endorsment and cash from the plugmaker.....There are many who do that..

[likwid]

Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&

acually he most likely used bait but stuck a plug in the fishes mouth for the endorsment and cash from the plugmaker.....There are many who do that..

jealousy gets even the best of them.

[eelman]

use eels, use eels, use eels, use eels

[Canalman]

Always someone stirring that old pot eh Bill?

[zacs]

i'm just messing with you. I think everyone knows that eels will always outfish plugs. any live bait for that matter.

[Skitterpop]

Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&

use eels, use eels, use eels, use eels

what are these eeeeeeeeeellllllllllllllsssssssss you speak of senor #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& ?

[shadow]

only a few times as in like two when I found bass that would not take an eel,I thought they were schoolies so I throw a plug and bang 22# then a few other teen size,that almost never happens,almost always eels no matter what bait is around.

[tattoobob]

Originally Posted by Back Beach

The presence of peanut bunker is way overrated IMO. Everyone gets excited over the peanuts, which is cool, but the eels at night will consistently take the largest fish. Most of the peanut blitzes are small and medium 7#-15# or so fish. The numbers can be big, but I'll take one large over 100 smalls every time.

Bingo, you hit the nail right on the head

[redlite]

Oh yeah, eels are "THE" thing over anything? take a DEAD X ounce pogie and stick xxxxx in it and xxx in it and rig and and y-y it and i bet you no matter how many fish are around, and how many eels or live pogies you send to the bottom, you will not get a fish once a y-y pogie is put in the water. .......

But from the beach, unless it starts with "EE" and ends in "L", I wouldn't bother.


Ahhhhhhh............fishing from shore.

[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

[NIB]

Tough to beat a heartbeat no matter what it is.
Good fish can be fooled by plugs.It's where the better anglers shine.

[Rockport24]

I know this thread is old news, but I haven't been on in a while - thanks for all the responses guys.. I just really started using eels and they are great, I"m sticking with them this fall for a cow and bringing the sluggos and surf hogs and reel eels too. I may chase a peanut blitz if I get skunked in the darkness and I am desparate for some action by the time the sun comes up.