How I hook an Eel

[eelman]

Well Sandman, I am going to say this once again, very rarely do I cast an eel off or does the eel tear free, it holds well. The hook will slide up towards the mouth a bit due to the stress of casting but it simply does not come out often.Also I dont get hangups that everyone is worried about, just does not happen. I do not baby my casts either I use conventional and lay into my casts good.

As far as boat fishing, I see no reason why someone cant use this hooking method in a boat, I am sure it will work.

[snake slinger]

eels dont hang up much no mater how you hook them i will throw a eel were i wouldnt dream of throwing a plug.

[leptar]

Well I tried #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&s way, and after the second cast off i went back to hooking them the old way... At first it was wow easy hooking thru the mouth and out the throat.. 4 casts later and it's flying... rehook another and about 5 casts it the same story... screw that... using the same hooks on 40# fluro to 20# big game on a 704z and lami tri-flex combo...


after i was all tired i tossed a dead eel in my bucket... i rigged it up #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&s way again and inspected it every cast but i didn't lay into the casts... about the 5th cast there was a tear about 3/4" long where the hook has done it's damage...

his way might be great with a conventional but not so good with spinning gear...

[NIB]

I have to say i agree.I use 7 or 8/0 or even bigger live bait hooks.kinda between the HD's an the octopus.I also siwash an sometimes 8/0 owner octopus hooks. depends on my mood. .the bigger the hook the harder it is to penetrate.I have also felt the hook pop out of a spot in the mouth an rehook in the jaw on the way out. I feel the way I hook em the 5/0 is kinda small.I hook em behind the gills an up thru the back of the head i hate castin eels off.they stay alive long enough.seems to work good for me.i think hook bending or breaking depends on how the hook is set in the fishes mouth sometimes there is just nothing u can do.I have put quite a bit of pressure on some good fish wit the octopus without problems.I have 2 friends who landed a 57 an a 60 in a 6 knot current wit em.I would stay away from the smaller ones though.i think its like tyin knots u find one that u get right an u stick with it thats the best way.U don't make mistakes u learn what works for u an u get comfortable.a 80 percent knot is as better than a poorly tied 90 percent knot.

[eelman]

Originally Posted by leptar

Well I tried #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&s way, and after the second cast off i went back to hooking them the old way... At first it was wow easy hooking thru the mouth and out the throat.. 4 casts later and it's flying... rehook another and about 5 casts it the same story... screw that... using the same hooks on 40# fluro to 20# big game on a 704z and lami tri-flex combo...


after i was all tired i tossed a dead eel in my bucket... i rigged it up #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&s way again and inspected it every cast but i didn't lay into the casts... about the 5th cast there was a tear about 3/4" long where the hook has done it's damage...

his way might be great with a conventional but not so good with spinning gear...

Something isnt right, There is more stress involved in casting with conventional than with spinning, if anything the conventional is going to cast off more eels, again somthing is not right.... I dont cast off eels and I lay into my cast.

So I would not say "screw that" When its abvious your doing something out of whack. I had an eel on last night that lasted me over an hour. hey whatever method you guys use eels work, I dont care how you rig them, I was just showing what I have done for 20years with HUGE Success.

[DZ]

I think I know why you may be ripping them off on the cast. I also hook eels out the bottom of the mouth. Make sure you go at least 3/4 to one inch inside the mouth before you bring the point out the bottom. If you go any less they will rip off on the cast. Your hookpoint should be in the throat before you bring it out the bottom. Depending on the size of the eel and size of your hook you may see the eels head actually curve a little from the hooks bend while hanging on your line. Hope this helps.

DZ

[Nebe]

IMO,the only difference between casting conventional & Spinning is that you can get away with a jerky cast with spinning. A conventional reel doesnt like jerky casts, and a jerky cast will also make your eels rip. Also, the type of rod blank your using will make your eels rip or fly off the hook. Most eelers like a a parabolic blank as opposed to a fast action 'popping' blank as the soft action of a parabolic blank will allow you to 'lob' an eel pretty far without worrying too much about ripping the hook out of the eel or making a huge hole in the eels head.

Heres a great example- last season i was using a VS25o paired with a batson 1208 which was a pretty stiff, fast rod.. i cast off and ripped alot of eels-

This season i am using an Abu 6500 Cs mag on a Lamiglass 1201-L cut 4 inches off the tip- I dont eel alot, but when i do i rarely cast off any eels and i never rip any since i switched to this combo. I think it has more to do with the fact that I am always thinking about not backlashing so i always do a smooth cast.

[eelman]

Originally Posted by DZ

I think I know why you may be ripping them off on the cast. I also hook eels out the bottom of the mouth. Make sure you go at least 3/4 to one inch inside the mouth before you bring the point out the bottom. If you go any less they will rip off on the cast. Your hookpoint should be in the throat before you bring it out the bottom. Depending on the size of the eel and size of your hook you may see the eels head actually curve a little from the hooks bend while hanging on your line. Hope this helps.

DZ

good post!

[eelman]

This thread is getting beat to death!

Eel fishing aint that hard!