Eel Fishing - Some Helpful Tips

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Fishing Academy

If you are going to catch eels, then for starters I will say that these fish reach a length of up to two meters and a weight of 4-6 kilograms. But individuals of 50-150 centimeters are much more common. Anglers call eels less than 50 centimeters “laces”. I have caught a lot of eels, but I must admit: the largest trophy was just over eight hundred grams. The rest are smaller.

In our reservoirs, this fish takes from April to November. In the cold season, the predator does not feed. Most of the fishing literature recommends fishing for eels with bottom gear. This is mostly correct. However, with certain skills, you can also fish these fish for spinning, trolling, mugs and even for wiring a float rod. And although many reference books claim that the eel is an exclusively nocturnal predator and that it is a bottom fish, this is not entirely true … Often, being among vegetation or in other protected places where the fish feels safe, it can hunt at any time of the day. In addition to patrolling a certain area in search of food, the eel often, looking out of the hole, vigilantly monitors everything that happens around and never misses the opportunity to grab what it considers edible. In such cases, the predator boldly takes both on a variety of baits on a fishing rod and on spoons. And even when the bait is intended for another fish, but is in sight - the eel immediately grabs it.

Practice shows that most often the bites of eels occur on a bait slowly moving near the bottom. Especially on a movable (running bottom). One of the options for such fishing is shown in Figure 1. To do this, at the end of the fishing line we tie a sinker weighing 30-50 grams, then two leashes with hooks No. 6-8. The first leash is 10-15 cm long at a distance of 25-30 cm, the second is 15-20 cm long at a distance of 60-70 cm. Fishing line 0.3-0.4 mm in diameter, leads 0.25-0.3 mm. You can fish with this tackle at any depth, as long as there are no hooks at the bottom. This is best done with a boat at anchor. After casting, when the lead sinks to the bottom, you should raise the rod or, reeling in the reel (if there is one), pull the line so that the leashes with hooks move, almost touching the bottom. Then, every three to four meters, you need to stop for about a minute,thus, letting the bait lie at the bottom. In a word, the bait should, if possible, play.

… Another, more complex, but much more catchy tackle for eels, I found in a fishing magazine (Fig. 2). Moreover, against the background of the tackle there was a photo of the fisherman himself with a ninety-centimeter eel in his hands. This ugrelov (just so!) Explained that his tackle is especially effective in grassy and snagged places. Its essence is this …

On the main line with a diameter of 0.3 mm (Fig. 2, item 1), a swivel is installed freely moving along it (Fig. 2, item 2). A side leash with a diameter of 0.25 mm is attached to it (Fig. 2, pos. 3), on which there is a sinker (Fig. 2, pos. 4). Since this leash is thinner than the main line, only the lead breaks when hooked, and the fish and the rest of the tackle, as a rule, remain intact.

At the end of the main line, between two swivels (Fig. 2, pos. 6 and 10), an intermediate leash is fixed (Fig. 2, pos. 7), which is a piece of line up to two meters long and 0.25 mm in diameter. It contains a float (Fig. 2, pos. 9), beads (Fig. 2, pos. 5), locking units (Fig. 2, pos. 8). Moreover, the float is under water and does not serve as a bite signaling device, but makes the bait (Fig. 2, pos. 12) buoyant, thereby avoiding hooks. The bite is transmitted to the angler through the fishing line.

Depending on the depth at which hooks are possible, the float can be moved along an intermediate leash using locking knots. The stop knot is the simplest possible. The beads are necessary so that, in case of possible contact, the parts of the tackle do not catch on each other. A leash with a hook (Fig. 2, pos. 11), its length is 15-20 cm, is attached to the intermediate leash using a swivel.

I am far from thinking that everyone who wants to catch an eel will undertake to make such a tackle. I think no. But the fisherman can see firsthand what ingenuity and ingenuity are needed to become the owner of such a valuable trophy. Eel catching is very catchy. I was a witness (only a witness!) How 20-30 eels were caught every night on a fifty-hooked bank on a lake in Karelia. But this tackle is already prohibited in many reservoirs. The attachment for any tackle when fishing for eels are earthworms and dung worms, crawlings, parts of fish. Eel is especially good for live bait: loach, ruff, gudgeon, perch, roach, eelpout and other small fish.

I happened to hear and read about a rather primitive and ineffective (nevertheless existing) method of catching eels … Two or three dozen worms are wrapped in a piece of strong cloth (most often an old nylon stocking is used). The resulting bundle is tied with a string so that it does not fall apart, a sinker is attached to it, and all this on a fishing line or cord is lowered from the boat to the bottom. The bundle will be found very quickly and small blackheads will begin to pull at. As soon as the angler feels this, it is necessary to quickly pull the bundle out of the water. Eels that do not have time to release the bait will hang on it. It should be noted that success is ensured only when the depth does not exceed 2.5 meters. It is clear that only "laces" are caught on this tackle.

The eel takes the bait, as they say, "tightly", that is, sits on the hook securely. And more often than not, playing this fish takes place without much difficulty. However, if an eel is caught on a tackle set for the night, then it will not come off and will not break the line, but it can drag it into the grass, under a fallen tree or under driftwood. Or, backing away and wriggling, it forms such a number of knots and loops on the line that it is simply impossible to extract fish from the water. In addition, having fallen on the hook and following while playing, seemingly without resistance, the eel, if a snag or a protruding branch of a sunken tree is encountered nearby, unexpectedly bends and clings to them with its tail and makes a sharp turn. If at this moment the angler does not release the fishing line, it can easily break off or the hook will break. And then goodbye to the eel …