Questions about eels?

[David]

You guys have been helpful in the past,so maybe you can steer me in the right direction. I've concluded that fishing at night in my area could be most productive. I live near the mouth of the Slocum River which is about 7 miles north of Cuttihunk Island. I can readily catch all the eels I need right around my house, so thats no problem. I currently have a few 8' custom boat rods that seem to be fairly stiff,so I hope they will work ok. Here are a few questions.
1.Whats the best size and type hook?
2.What length,tensile,and material should the leader be?
3.Whats the best brand and tensile strength of the main line?
4.pros and cons drifting vs. anchoring?
5.Whats the best size eel to use and the correct way to attach?
6.How long should I let the fish run before setting the hook?
7.Whats the best tide when fishing near th mouth?
Thanks for any imput.

PS If anyone would like to provide some hands on instruction, I would be more than happy to supply boat,bait,beer,and any thing else you might need.

[JohnR]

Ah yes, another person into the fold of eel slingin'...

David,
Keep in mind that my fishing is primarily eels at night from shore, as taught to me by the #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&,here you go:

1. Mustad 6/0 Live bait/All Around hooks, not stainless as if you break off, you want the hook to rust out quick. I've also tried circle hooks but have not seen good results eeling. I'm going to try some more this year but I don't think it suits this application of fishing...

2. I personally like Berkly Big Game Clear 40 or 50# mono leader material. I generally use 18 to 36 inches of leader material depending on the boulderability factor which is much more pronounced with surf fishing.

3. Again I like to use 20# to 30# Big Game Green which I buy in one pound spools. Not as hardy as alot of the braids and all but at the cost difference, it doesn't hurt to respool alot more frequently.

4. My boat fishing is limited but you should do what conditions permit and sometimes both. It also depends on how close to the shore rubble you are. Certainly don't drop anchor in the middle of other's drifts as what happens too often >(

5. I like good size eels 12-15 inches with a little meat but sometimes you can't get those and get shoe strings which catch big fish too. My big concern is that they are castable, not as big of an issue with a boat. The two main ways to hook an eel are in to the mouth and through the bottom - I much prefer for shore fishing or in to the mouth and out an eye socket, which is about even in surf and more dominant in the boat.

6. Letting fish run really varies. Depends on how the fish are hitting. I like a 3-5 count but sometimes you need longer sometimes right after you drop the tip set... I usually start at 4-5 seconds and vary it.

7. Fishing the drop would probably be the best tide at an inlet - not universally but probably most consistent. Also best on average to fish the strong side of the drop. If you are working a sea current heading east and the river is dumping out, usually your best fishing will be in the rip that curls to the east from the inlet.

Summer boat fest in David's boat everyone. How many can you fit, hehehe :P

[David]

John,
Thanks for the info. One more question. When anchored in a pretty strong current would you reccomend using a fish-finder rig to keep the eel just off the bottom or should I just cast and retrive to cover a larger area?

[Canalratt1]

David if your anchored in a current area a good way to fish them is to cast them upcurrent and let them drift and swim with no weight. Cast towards any exposed rocks works well in slower water and retrieve slowly. Got stripers does good letting them drift behind his boat while he uses his electric. Experiment with some of the ideas your area is one of the best around for fishing eels.

[JohnR]

David, if you are looking to get them down, cast upcurrent like CRatt said but you can also add rubber core sinkers like 1/2 or 3/4 ounce to help keep you down.

Fishifinder rigs can work too but you would want a fair amount of line our to the eel. One thing to keep in mind, in order to best work the eel, you want the minimum amount of tackle involved and you should keep in tight but slow contact with the eel, and use good swivels as this helps reduce the eel's spinning which isn't very natural looking. I've been usiing the SPRO swivels lately when I need them. They are not too good for plugs and teasers but are great when you just want a low profile but strong swivel in the mix...

[Slipknot]

SPRO, are those the tiny 1/8 " wide swivels you can barely get the line thru?

I also sometimes put on a rubbercore sinker 1/2 oz or when I need more I put an egg sinker above a swivel(not aSPRO).

[JohnR]

Uh-huh, SPRO be the one. I like them for when I'm not tying mono to mono. They spin very freely, don't weed up, and they are very strong for a small size, but they ain't cheap. They're something like $4 for a 5 pack but nice. I wouldn't use them for tyoing a dropper or (obviously) for a fishfinder or egg sinker but they work great for line to line...

[Roccus]

<<<<<[quote]David (02-03-2001 14:49):
I live near the mouth of the Slocum River which is about 7 miles north of Cuttihunk Island. PS If anyone would like to provide some hands on instruction, I would be more than happy to supply boat,bait,beer,and any thing else you might need.[/quote>>>>
David,
Where is that? On the mainland or further up the islands? I fish the Elizabeths from Woods Hole to Cuttyhunk and I've come to adopt the KISS approach...keep it simple, stupid. I use 17lb Stren on an 8' glass rod with 402 Mitchell Garcia (both about 25yrs old) and a 5/0 circle hook...I set when I feel that sort of "grabbing " feeling on my line. I don't set hard, mostly I just reel in any slack and tighten. Seems to work fine. I buy a couple dozen eels at Macos Bait & Tackle in Buzzards bay and I don't even bother to look at their size...just use an old work glove to grab & hold them, hook up under the chin & out the eye & toss (gently) into the rocks or a likely looking rip and slow-reel my retrieve.
E-mail me at jerryvov@cs.com or roccus@noreast.com and maybe we can get together for a couple of trips this summer.

[Slipknot]

One method of getting eels down deep if there are smaller fish and blues up above the bigger bass would be to place your eel and rig in a paper bag then when it is down near the bottom just give it a quick yank to release from the bag. But the bag ends up polluting the water, probably not for long but it could keep the choppers away from your bait.

David , I like to fish the Elizabeth islands also. Do you ever do any shore fishing?