Would the loss of eels truly hurt you?

[tlapinski]

I have been thinking about this a lot lately. Of all the fish over 30#'s I have taken, only a couple have come on eels. Season after season, I consistantly catch my best fish of the year while plugging or jigging. The numbers of quality fish that I have taken favor plugging heavily. The last time that my "best of the season" was caught on an eel was in 2001, when I took my big girl off the sand. Year in and year out, plugs do the damage for me. So, will your big fish success be hurt if we loose the use of eels?

[RIROCKHOUND]

Good thread...
I think that there are tons of nuances to fishing eels, BUT eels probably level the playing field the most.. cast, reel sloooow then do your prefered set and fight the fish...

I think it would hurt me personably.. It would force me to use plastic more and, well jigs.. jigs are always good too

[Slingah]

I have not fished eels but a couple times in the past two seasons...almost all my fish over thirty pounds have come on eels, but thats all I used to fish..........Im using eels this year in the right places, where I maybe wouldnt have the last two years......just in case

[baldwin]

Haven't really fished eels in years. I get more satisfaction from plugs and flies, and they're easier to use when you decide to fish last-minute.

[Goose]

I go with what I know and know eel is big bass get down deep bait. If I'm going to spend countless hours, ect. ect. fishing then I want those hours spent with intent on targeting the biggest fish.

[tlapinski]

One thing I see happening is the truly good fishermen will shine. Sure, there are things that make some guys better eel fishermen than others, but making a fish think your hunk of wood/plastic/lead is live food takes more skill than placing a live offering in a bass's face. All things equal, in front of a hungry bass, she will take the live offering over the fake any day. I think you'll see far less googans falling on trophy fish while the "sharpies" continue to pick away at the cows. It's all about adapting to the situation at hand.

I know when I fish plugs now, I always wonder if I am missing something by throwing an eel, and vise-versa. If I eliminate the option of eels, I'll fish what I can use that much better.

I do still have two places where eels shine and there is really no other option that can take the fish that an eel can. I plan to work on that this year, though, so I'm not left in the cold when/if we can no longer use them.

[Steve K]

Definitely. My largest fish have all come on eels. If there were a moratorium, I am sure that I would be fine but in July and August my productivity would be down.

[In The Surf]

Good question Toby. My largest fish fell to that striper candy. Last year due to eel size and $ issues I fished plugs more and did very well. This year I plan to fish rigged sluggo's more than I did in the past along with the plugs that have produced for me. I still plan to fish eels while we can providing I find the size range I prefer. Also I have been meaning to trap my own to see how that works out.

[Nebe]

I saw this eel problem coming a while ago and stayed clear of eels the last 2 seasons. Yes i have used them in times of desperation, but mainly i am a plugger/jigger. So nope, the eel moratorium will not hurt me one bit.

[Nebe]

good points Toby. I agree with you. I will say that the larger bass i caugt on eels seemed to have full bellies, while the big ones i caught on plugs always seemed to be empty. Its almost like they hit that plug out of desperation.. while they hit the eel out of pleasure.

[ThrowingTimber]

Have no problem fishing eels, but mainly use artificials.

[shadow]

definitely.I fish eels about 80% of the time and they produce my best fish,I like plugging better but eels simply produce more consistently for me.There are guys who can work magic w/ there plugs,I'am just not there yet.

[fcap60]

Yes, It would hurt my quest for big fish.

I think we all agree that catching bass on plugs is more of a challenge and more fun, but IMHO, eels are the bait of choice to constantly catch big bass.

just my .02

[clambelly]

guys, it is still a challenge to catch a big fish on eels, just as it is while using artificials. like some have said, the live bait is more of an attractant, but to be a truely great fisherman, you have to be able to adapt whatever type of "bait" you are using in order to entice the fish into hitting your offering.

i think there is a strong possiblity you might see less big fish come off the beaches if there is an eel ban.

[libassboy]

I will certinly miss eels. There are certin times of year and at certin spots where thats all ill use. 2 of my three fish over 30 fell to eels, but my biggest was a plug. I also really enjoy fishing eels, something about that eel suddenly waking up and freaking out at 4 am that gets my heart going, the subsequent slam from a bass aint bad either.

[Joe]

It would hurt me because the way I like to fish and the places I have adapted to are eel spots. A lot of the best spots are eel spots.

I never bought into the notion that those who prefer eels are less skillful anglers or that eel fising is "cheating." Eel fishing is as legitimate a style of fishing as any other.

Not that most eel anglers give a rats a__ what anybody thinks. Eel fishermen are out to catch the biggest fish possible not make some kind of statement about their versatilty or skill as angler.

Ya ever bite the head of a live eel to stun it when wading because you had nothing to whack it on?

[In The Surf]

Joe I think your days of listening to Ozzie have caught up with you. If all else fails try a little whack with the pliers.

What I also really like about fishing with eels is that it's proactive, it may be a live bait but you fish it like a plug, sorta just slower.

[Saltheart]

Depends on where fishing. If in the canal , I won't miss them , except for occasional skins. . In the surf , I'd miss rigged eels more but live eels are convenient and deadly..

[Goose]

Originally Posted by Joe

Ya ever bite the head of a live eel to stun it when wading because you had nothing to whack it on?

Look forward to trying that this year.

[NIB]

I don't really throw eels at all.when i get in the water i like em cause i don't like dealin with trebles an a bag an all that stuff.i like to keep it simple.90% of all my fishing is with lures.I 'm not a fan of the ban tho kinda reminds me of the oil embargo.Watch eels will be 4.00 per when its lifted.

[choggieman]

I can say I fish eels from the beach 2 or 3 times a year at most, so there I would not miss them. As for the boat, I love 3 waying them and would be hurt if I could no longer. But there is other options besides them from the boat.......

[Back Beach]

No eels? I quit.

Really though, I use mostly eels because I feel it is the best way to catch large in most cases, plus I hate treble hooks. You can argue less skilled fishermen will be hurt by no eels, and the real fishermen will shine, but it simply isn't true. Sometimes plugs are the only way to fish such as when you have a 30 knot wind in your face or the fish are way off the beach and a long casting plug is needed.Maybe you're in the canal with 50 feet of water in front of you and the fish are near the bottom. How much good will a live bait do you then? Also, if you fish mostly with plugs, then most of your large will come on plugs just by way of the relationship of time spent fishing with them versus other methods. I fish mostly eels in eel appropriate locations on eel tides with eel mentality and an eel rod, therefore most of my big fish come on eels and I would miss them, but I would adapt.
Sometimes a fly is the best way to catch them, sometimes jigs, sometimes eels. Its all about results for me, not the hows. Good question Toby.

[Squibby17]

I'm not going to lie, I would miss them for sure.

I caught my first striper on an eel and I would say 2/3's of my larger fish (larger being over 15 lbs) have been caught on eels. If they are truely endangered I will have no problem stop using them however I may have to learn the art of the rigged sluggo once this happens (may try it this year too)

Quick story

Last Fall I went to one of my spots and my friend was suppose to meet me with eels. Well I waited for him for 1 hour and I caught 3 or 4 bass all under 8 lbs. He finally shows up we rig up the eels and get two fish over 15 lbs in the first 1/2 hour, there is no doubt in my mind eels work better for the bigger and smarter fish.

my .02

[t.orlando]

Probably 95% of my fish over 30# been on eels. But also fish them the majority of the time. So will hurt some, just gonna have to rethink strategys

[tlapinski]

I will get this disclaimer out of the way now, as it was not my intention in the first place. This post was meant to spark some discussion as it is something I have been thinking about lately and something I have discussed with a few of my fishing partners. It was not meant in any way to belittle eel guys, or to make out pluggers to be better than eels guys. If I wanted to do that, I would have just said "eel fish don't count anyway". I eel and I plug. I apologoze if my post or comments were taken in any other way. As I did say earlier,

there are things that make some guys better eel fishermen than others

This is the same of plug fihermen.

That said, I like some of the responses so far. The point about the commercial fisherman was something I was thinking about, as was the question of what will the skishers do? I guess you could plug while skishing, or drift a pogie chunk, but I think the last thing you would want is a bag of pogies hanging off your belt out in open water...

[piemma]

It would hurt my production in July and August. Eels are the killer in the warm Summer months. Not too concerned about Spring and Fall as there are always some big baits around so plugs work for me. It will definetely put a crimp in my fishing for Summer...unless I go the Sluggo route which I think we will all be forced into eventually

[seabass]

Lots of good poinys here, but the big one would be how many commercial guys it would hurt? I know a few who fish nothing but eels, eight at a time sometimes 200 a night. I dont fish eels that much, once or twice a year, I seem to attract the dogs with em.Still that bump bump bump is a great feeling.

[striprman]

It's a good question. As both a boat and shore fisherman, I'd say yes, sometimes better catches can be made with eels. At night, when the fish are "active", eels work, but so do big rebels and other "bomber" type lures. But, if the fish "want" eels, they work like big worms on the kibbie pond. Try Scornton ledge in late July or August.

Will a moratorium actually effect me ? I doubt it. I love to fish jigs and plugs, so much fun, good excersize too, whip a plug or jig "out there" and hope the big mama will be there...

So, I'll stick with chumming mackerel and pogies in my favorite "bass hole".

if I was a younger, healthier man, you'ld find me fishing eels in the middle of the night (late spring, summer, fall)... some where on the canal

Try the herring run on the canal the first couple weeks of June.

They do catch. Slimy buggers though.