Eeling problems

Capecodder,
As Carl said, try a ball bearing swivel. I use just a barrell swivel to connect my 40-50lb test leader and do not have line twists, but if you are having problems the ball bearing swivel will help. Do you always keep in contact with the eel???? Are you keeping it moving just enough so he does not twist up??? That can also be your problem. As far as little resistance, maybe you are using eels that are too small, most eels in the 15" range are heavy enough to give enough resistance to avoid the nests.
Hope this helps.
MZ