Glad to hear you rigged some up! Now you know I wasn't kidding about the gross part.
) A couple of comments. You want to rig more than 2 at a time. One reason is that if the
first 2 took 45 minutes , the last 2 of a dozen will take you 10 minutes. Fast learning curve. Now the bad news. The other reason to rig plenty is that a bluefish will destroy that rigged
eel in about 2 seconds. Sorry but that's the way it is. They chop the tail off and leave you with about a 3 inch cigar butt hanging from the squid. Even if you catch the blue on the
tailhook , the eel is usually chopped thru. I usually freeze the live eels a few at a time as I come home with extras after fishing them live. When I get quite a few I fill up the sink with
cold water and dump the eels in. When thawed in water the slime forms what looks to be a fluf around the eels. It gets about 1/4 inch thick. This I wipe right off. That's the gross part
and thats the stuff that smells. People say bass won't hit a slimeless eel. That's pure bullsh oops I mean in my opinion they will. better yet , in my experience they will. After rigging I
simply put in a ziplock and refreeze. The brine freezing is a good idea but when you have 2 dozen in the freezer they take up much less space if they are just frozen by themselves in
the ziplock. I keep them in a cooler if I have a cooler for drinks but if not , they can just be kept in a bucket. I have thawed and refrozen eels several times with no ill effects. I can';t
over emphasize the importance of the full wraps around the eel behind its head but in front of the hook part of the head hook. The big advantage of rigged eels is that you can cast them
much harder because the hook is secured in by that head wrap. That wrap should be real tight and about 10 times around. With only 2 , Id fish a plug or popper in an area to see
if blues are around. Then you can risk the eels. In the absence of bluefish , the rigged eels will last more than one season! I've never had to throw one away because it got ruined by
thawing and freezing. Sometimes they do get torn up though while catching stripers but they are surprisingly tough.
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