setting the hook when fishing eels

[Diggin Jiggin]

One of my goals for this year was to learn to really fish eels so that can I have one more way to fish. I've also been waiting 20+ years for a 40 and if an eel is what it takes that's ok with me...

Anyways, I started last weekend. I have 2 rods I'm going to use, one is spinning and one conventional. Last weekend I was using the spinning rod, and I had four or 5 hits. I was fishing with the tip high and then lowering it to give the fish time to take it before trying to set the hook and I only hooked 1 out of 5 fish. The fish was small so that may have been part of the problem too.

Anyways, is that what you guys do with spinning. Also, just as an fyi I fish them cast and retrieve very slowly.

The other question is what do you guys who fish conventional do? Do you drop it into free spool and wait for the fish to pick it up and go, or are you dropping the tip and trying to cross their eyes?

[jim sylvester]

spinning

bow to the cow

i don't do a count...just kind a feel thing

when you think its the right time.......cross their eyes

decksweeper saw me levatate off the rock one night when i set the hook.....he said i went off the ground

don't hold anything back on the hooksets


ps....drag needs to be a little loose for this

[2na]

I agree with Jim, that its just a feel thing, but the way I teach people out fishing eels for the first time is, once the bass slams the eel, take two steps forward, reel in the slack and set up. Has worked well.

[capesams]

spin..only if it's blowing more then 25 in your face....toss eel..let sink..dead slow retreive..twitch-twitch..back to dead slow....bump..throw the bail open..hold line in finger's...let run...humm-humm-humm..engage bail..let line tighten up abit...set hook.

conv.....toss eel....dead slow retreive..bump....free spool....hummm-humm-humm...engage reel...line tighten..set hook.

now is fine if there's no tide running...but if at any place where the water is moving out over/around/out beyond a point or headed offshore....toss eel....plop....let the eel head out on it's own till 3/4 of your spool is gone..then engage and retreive.


sometimes bass don't like slow eels..they only want them doing 90 through the water[trust me on this]..eel's DON"T need to be alive either to work well.


eels can be dead sticked alive too....2-3-4oz bank sinker..one foot leader..hook....they can also be tail hook and tossed out with weight to sit on the bottom....or you can when fishing in a dingy..drop them over the side dead with an egg sink...let it hit the bottom..twitch-twitch..bang.

eels can be trolled on lead core or wire with weight to get them down in 50-80 feet of water.

bass love eels dead or alive so don't toss those dead ones away...they will freeze up nicely till needed.

[snake slinger]

i do the same thing spin or convech.rod tip high drop the rod when you feel the hit hesatate then set hard.if your missing fish there small.

[Diggin Jiggin]

Thanks Guys!
The fish cooperated this morning and let me practice on em. I got 5 in the 34-38" range, and I had a bunch of hits i missed but atleast I felt like i was hooking the ones that were taking it... And ya they were hitting the eels even after they were dead.

[Roger]

If you want to hook more bass, move away from the small fish.

Anything approaching keeper size has that whole eel in his mouth about as quickly as the time it takes you to slurp a strand of spaghetti.

[RIROCKHOUND]

Originally Posted by jim sylvester

spinning

bow to the cow

i don't do a count...just kind a feel thing

when you think its the right time.......cross their eyes

decksweeper saw me levatate off the rock one night when i set the hook.....he said i went off the ground

don't hold anything back on the hooksets


ps....drag needs to be a little loose for this

All based on feel relative to the eel size too...

Drag loose... just dont forget to change the drag from "Rigged eel" to regular eel setting... set.... snap.... almost fall flat... how do I know

[jim sylvester]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

All based on feel relative to the eel size too...

Drag loose... just dont forget to change the drag from "Rigged eel" to regular eel setting... set.... snap.... almost fall flat... how do I know

i wish i had a camera

[RIROCKHOUND]

Yeah.. thankfully I was alone, so no one to laugh at me
Gotta start w/ a tight drag on riggies to drive that Gaff home.