Fishing with live eels tips & tactics

[Merrillizer™]

Oh boy, sounds like yer fishing too deep lol. If yer weighting eels, I personally cant help. The only time I have ever bounced eels off the bottom with weight is under and around the General Sullivan bridge, and that was a ways back. Someone else might be able to help with that aspect of eeling.

I prefer to cast and plug them, much like a wood plug, say a needlefish. In shallow water. I hate deep water 90% of the time lol. Anything over 10-15 feet, and I want to go home. I like water that I can walk around in.....shallow. A big misconception about bass is that they dont like shallow water.....ever hear someone say...."it's too hot, the bass left for deeper offshore water". Rubbish. Roc can tell you better than I can. But I can honestly say I have been sweating my ass off at night, sweltering humidity, and landed some mighty fish, in shallow water.

It might take some trial and error, hell I am still learning every time out. There are pictures of bass caught on live eels in the gallery here, most of them caught in water under 4 feet, some of them even landed with the skeg in the mud. Bottomed out Big bass are NOT afraid of shallow water, you shouldnt be either! The 4 biggest bass I have ever battled and landed were all caught in water 8' and under.

Leave the sinkers and fishfinder rigs in the trash on your way out if yer fishing with live eels. Try to meet up with some of us on one of our weekly jaunts in Hampton, and we can try to help yas out

[Roccus]

here's how I keep 'em...

the last pic is of the "Roc" stunner, select your bait, work him into posistion so his belly is facing you, jam your thumb into his lower skull, HARD, he'll roll over like a dog beggin for a bone, once you do it a few thousand times like I have, you wont even need a rag, once you sink in your hook and release the :"hold" toss the lil bastage in the water real qwick, 'cause it will surelly be pissed off... make a quick cast and your in buisness...

[Roccus]

and if'n ya fish 'em good... this is the reward....

[Merrillizer™]

Tha Joe Isuzu Stunnah

Thanks for posting some more help Roc.

[Coalman]

Hey who's fishing tonight in the " Marsh". We could put Roc's tips to the test.
I'm in.

[Brandon-K]

I'll be fishing tonight, Striper Steve is also going to fish. See ya at the Cinema!

[Scout]

I'm going to try these things again on the incoming tide saturday. I have been using them in fairly shallow water. Casting them in and leaving them to do there thing. The problem is the come back in an eel ball. How do you prevent that from happening? I'm also going to use my little kicker and try trolling one a round a little at a real slow speed. For the most part I have not used any weight except when I tried them in the piscat. I needed the weight to keep them down in the rip. Fishing this year has been terrible. We fished both Friday night and Saturday and got skunked. I was hopin to get my daughters boy friend hooked on to a good one. He is from Tennessee and has never hooked on to one of these cows. Any way he his back home and won't be back until next season. If any of you are out by Bass Beach and see a white center console Sea Hunt with a blue Bimini it is me. Thanks for all your help.

[Skunch the Skunk]

I did not even know that
you prevent that from happening
do. Your purpose is the most part he or she have not used any weight except when he or she tried them in the piscat.I see. from Tennessee and has never hooked on to one of these cows is
from Tennessee and has never hooked on to one of these cows
?Yes I think there are.

[Merrillizer™]

Skunch, be quiet!

Scout, shallow water over mud flats and then some shallow water with structure is a good place to start with eels. You are throwing them out and not retrieving them. Cast them out, then retrieve them back like you would a bomber long A or some other type of lure. "Plug" them just like you would a swimming plug/lure. Another good place to plug live eels is creek mouths. Cast towards the bank, and plug that eel right across it. Find some water 6' and under and see what happens. An electric trolling motor helps, that way you can plug an eel and troll another one at the same time. Cant spot burn, but we can help guide you closer and tell you what to look for.....

[47onthewall]

What does that skunk drink; paint thinner or fermented pogie piss?