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Roger Williams wrote of the Narragansett Indians using nets to catch stripers, mostly in shallow coves inside the bay on the outgoing tide. While fishing with an angle (rod and line) or hand line, was in practice during colonial times, stripers were so plentiful that a hook and line was a very inefficient method of harvesting them.
The notion of doing anything for sport was only for the wealthy. People tended to try and get the most value for their time. It made more sense to buy or barter for fish - using goods or money from your primary occupation - than to spend time fishing.
In his 1954 book, Salt Water Fishing Is Easy, Jerry Sylvester describes a beaded eel rig for casting wigglies to the surf. I have not read about any of the late 19th century striper clubs using eels. I don't know if they did, or did not.
While I would not be surprised to find that eels have been used as bait for some time, I’m pretty sure that the local method of casting and retrieving them is a post-WWII development. With the advent of spinning reels, synthetic line, and glass rods, using lighter lures became less of a headache. I don't think an eel would have cast very well using one of those pool-cue cane rods.
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