Find out on our website how to catch an eel with a pipe and a frog with a line. Watching the video will be useful not only for beginners. In this article we will describe the entire process of catching this fish.
The most mysterious fish in our waters is the eel. This is due not only to its appearance (it resembles a snake), but also to its behavior. There are rumors that in special conditions, at night, the eel can travel tens of kilometers overland, and also that the eel feeds only on carrion. Note that he has good taste and charm, so he avoids such food, but he will sense fresh blood and meat at a great distance. This is a typical predator, capable of absorbing small fish, mollusks, crayfish and frogs in the dark without much difficulty. Catching this fish can be successful in all large rivers and reservoirs, except for high-lying cold mountain streams that are poor in livestock.
Snake or fish?
The appearance of the eel causes a lot of controversy among professional and novice fishermen, even in the age of highly developed information technology. Some people call it an “underwater snake” that can do without air, while others are sure that it is just an unusual fish, like some kind of stingray. What do scientists say about this? Yes, practically nothing. They simply classified both freshwater and saltwater eels as fish, despite their resemblance to snakes.
The appearance of the fish is quite remarkable: it has a very long body, which is completely covered with scales. The color can range from black to dark green depending on the body of water in which the eel lives. The small head is distinguished by a forward lower jaw, which makes the fish so much like a snake. The oral cavity is completely covered with small teeth. Individuals reach an average of two meters in length, and their weight usually does not exceed 4 kilograms.
River eel - when and where to catch
The head is small, slightly flattened, the mouth is small (compared to other predators), with small sharp teeth. The eel's body is covered with a layer of mucus, under which there are small oblong scales.
The back is brown or black, the sides are much lighter, and the belly is yellowish or white.
The eel feeds on various small animals living in the mud: crustaceans, worms, larvae, snails. Willingly eats the eggs of other fish. After four to five years in fresh water, the eel becomes a predator. It eats small ruffs, perches, roaches, that is, fish that live at the bottom of the reservoir.
Most amateurs catch eels with a regular bottom fishing rod. But this method is passive. Much more interesting is catching eels with mugs.
A standard circle is equipped with a fishing line with a diameter of 0.6 mm and a length of 20-25 meters. Using a swivel, we attach a leash from a piece of fishing line 20-30 cm long and 0.4 mm in diameter to the main fishing line. A #6 single hook should be very sharp. The sinker is spherical, weighing 20 grams, sliding.
Time and place of fishing
You should go fishing an hour and a half before sunset. The best conditions for catching eels are a warm day and a southwest wind. In cold weather with a north or east wind, the eel goes into deep holes and does not come out to the shallows at night.
To catch eels, an area 3-5 meters deep is selected not far from the shore, on the shallows; an indispensable condition must be the proximity of the hole from which the eels come out to the shallow water at night to feed.
Eel fishing tactics
The eel mugs are placed at dusk, in two or three rows so that the distance between them is 15-20 meters, this makes them easier to control. The sinker should lie on the bottom, the circle should stand in one place motionless, and the live bait should swim freely for about a day (the sinker is located 20-30 cm from the hook). We place live bait under the dorsal fin.
When an eel bites, the circle turns over and begins to rotate. Having discovered a reversal, you should swim up to the circle in a boat, take the fishing line in your hand and make a short hook (the eel swallows live bait deeply and its gatherings are rare).
Without a landing net, the eel is pulled straight into the boat on a fishing line and the eel is picked up with a dry cloth (otherwise it is impossible to pick it up, it is terribly slippery) and placed in a tightly closed cage.
Then they cut off the leash with the hook, knit a new one and put the circle back.
With a good bite, you can catch up to 5-7 eels per night.
In autumn they return to the coastal zone again. Now the fry have grown up, and the eels willingly feast on fish. During raids, eels often come very close to the shore and collect insects from the surface there (as clearly evidenced by night observations, including during the full moon). They also like to dig among the algae in search of snails, crustaceans and caddisfly larvae.
Favorite places for eels are submerged tree roots and dense coastal vegetation, where they can nestle into a comfortable hiding spot between the roots. Under trees overhanging the water, eels can be found at any time. On sunny days and in clear water, fish hide in shaded areas.
The edges of reeds, thickets of aquatic vegetation and water lilies promise excellent eel fishing, as the fish find abundant food here.
In such highly catchable places, the bait should be cast next to the bridge, since eels live in coastal fortifications or right between the piles.
Strong tackle. To calmly catch and deal with snags and eels stuck during fishing, you will need powerful tackle.
I use a 2.5lb carp rod and an inertial reel with 0.35mm monofilament line or 0.20mm braid.
The tackle in such a set can provide decent resistance to the fish and bring it to the landing net.
For the leader, I use soft Dyneema braid, for example, the Slogger carp leader from Sensas with a load capacity of 25 lb. If there are a lot of pike in the pond, then it is necessary to use a thin Kevlar leash with a load capacity of 5 kg. When fishing with a worm, a John Sidley Bait Holder type hook made by the English company Partridge served me well.
river eel
This is a very strong hook, on its shank there are two additional notches that hold the worm. For fishing with a whole worm, hooks No. 2-4 are quite suitable. I fish with earthworm pieces using an Outb-arb hook from the same manufacturer. It has a barb located on the outside of the hook bend.
I place dead fish on double hooks and treble hooks. I put a small fish up to 6 cm long on a double hook using a bait needle, a larger one - I put it on a small tee behind the back. For reliable hooking you should have a very sharp hook. Monitoring its sharpening and, if necessary, bringing it to condition will help you avoid empty hooks.
Better with a float. To catch eels close to the shore in calm water, I use simple rigs with luminous floats. Unlike bottom rigs, there are fewer snags and breaks with them, and they signal a bite much more sensitively. On a float rig, the eel feels less resistance.
Small eels bite confidently, but large specimens throw the bait at the slightest resistance. Large individuals check it very carefully before taking the bait. Apparently, this explains why they are rarely caught when fishing with a donk. On overgrown reservoirs, float equipment also has an advantage, because the bottom sinker gets hopelessly stuck among the plants.
When fishing with a worm, Waggler-type floats are used, which are carefully calibrated so that the slightest touch is recorded. At night, I use a clear plastic tube to place a catalytic firefly on the float antenna. The advantage of Waggler floats is that they cast well and even stand still on the water in the wind.
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river eel
“Float-sail” and fish-bait. For fishing with small bait fish, I use spindle-shaped floats with a carrying capacity of 6-12 g. Floats that have a small sail on the antenna are especially suitable. The wind picks them up, which allows the equipment to reach hard-to-reach areas of the reservoir. If there is no algae, then I drop the bait directly to the bottom.
But since quite a lot of leaves accumulate there in the fall, a bait located a palm’s width from the bottom is often more successful. When caught over thickets of aquatic plants, the eel immediately hides in them after biting and often leaves. A leash made of Kevlar or Teflon helps in this regard. Do you want to know the secrets of catching crucian carp? Then you should come here.
It is recommended to replace the first two meters of the main line with the same material. Combined with a strong rod, this will allow you to cut through the weed and pull out the eel. In very strong winds, I fish with a blind float rig, using a very light bottom sinker that, with the help of a Ledger Master, slides freely along the main line and holds the bait in place.
In order for the float to stand correctly on the water, you need to carefully align the descent. The bulk of eels are caught on earthworms; fewer are caught on bait fish, but the specimens are larger. I often catch eels with two fishing rods: I put a worm on one and a fish on the other, thanks to which I quickly determine the size of the eels in a given body of water.
Eels are attracted to bait. The size of the bait fish depends on the size of the expected eels; in particular, a one-kilogram eel can easily cope with a 10-centimeter fish. In the fall, as a rule, I fish with fish 5-8 cm long - there are fewer empty bites with them. If you want the eel to stay in the fishing spot, then it should be attached.
This is done over several days, shortly before dark, otherwise other fish may get ahead of the eels. As bait, commercial eel granules, maggots and pieces of worms are very good. The eel granule releases very delicate particles into the water, the aroma of which initially attracts crayfish. They are followed a little later by eels.
river eel
You can attract an eel to the fishing spot using bait on the surface. The fact is that a “bazaar” of small fish quickly appears around it, which attracts eels like a magnet.
The eel will readily take a dead fish, slipped right into the school on the sly.
Although eels can be caught during the day, as a rule, this fish dares to enter the coastal zone only under cover of darkness.
During the day, her voyages are often hampered by the crowd of people on the shore, so the bite begins with the onset of evening twilight. On successful acne nights it continues until midnight.
True, under a full moon only if I presented the bait at the surface of the water.
Written by Sven Heininger
Advice.
To make the earthworm more attractive, I spray it with an attractant (above). Attractants are easy to purchase at almost any fishing store. You can also bait the worm onto the hook and then dip it in the boilie solution (below). Basically, boilie solutions were created for carp, but the flavors of bivalve or crayfish are great for eel.
Fishing educational program.
- Ledger Master. A triangular through plate that moves freely along the main line. A separate sinker on a short leash is tied to the underside of the plate.
- "Float-sail." A large barrel-shaped float with a sail on the antenna, with the help of which “pikemen” deliver bait far in the wind. Fans of eel fishing in this way reach inconvenient places under bushes and trees.
- Waggler type floats. Long spindle-shaped floats, attached to the main line only at the lower end. When well loaded, they clearly signal even the slightest twitching. At night, a catalytic firefly is placed on the float antenna.
Features of behavior
Have you decided to start catching river eels? Then you should know about the basic habits that are characteristic of snake fish. In most cases, eels are found in deep bodies of water - this includes not only rivers, but also lakes, reservoirs and ponds. The type of soil is not so important, since the fish adapts well to both sand and silt. The salinity of the water also does not matter much - the eel feels comfortable both in the sea and in the aquarium.
During the rainy season, eels usually swim from one body of water to another - the ideal time of year to catch them. They usually use various snags, vegetation, burrows and other natural shelters as nests. At night, the fish go hunting. Among possible prey, the predator gives preference to small fish that it will be able to swallow. From this it follows that the optimal bait for it will be live bait.
Best time of year for fishing
Are you planning to go eel fishing in winter? We recommend that you immediately abandon such a futile activity. Since this fish is considered to be very heat-loving and begins to bite well only with the arrival of spring. Of course, many examples can be given when professional fishermen caught several individuals in the winter season, however, this is only an accident, not a pattern. Snakefish fishing is best done in warm water in the summer.
As a rule, they go for eels in the evening, since the main activity of the fish occurs at night, and subsides closer to dawn. In addition, in cloudy and rainy weather you can wait for a bite during the day, however, the chances of catching a truly trophy species are much higher after sunset. To catch an eel at lunchtime, you will have to know the fish’s habitat in order to lower the bait attached to the bottom tackle into the nest.
Bait and methods of production
Catching electric eels, which are best found in murky freshwater bodies, requires proper preparation. For example, you should stock up on a tent, good gear, and warm clothes in advance, since catching a predator can take a lot of time and effort.
As for bait, the following types of bait are usually used:
- a bunch of red worms;
- pieces of fish or live bait;
- boiled crayfish neck;
- chopped pieces of meat;
- insect larvae, leeches.
Also, we should not forget that the size of the bait must fully correspond to the size of the eel’s mouth. A large individual will almost never peck at one worm or a small piece of fish. This rule is especially relevant if you decide to use some kind of emitting bait - a twister, a spinner, a wobbler, and so on.
Using a donkey as a tackle
The eel is quite a strong opponent, so to catch it you will have to use a fishing rod that will not break while the fisherman is trying to pull the catch ashore. The ideal option would be ordinary bottom tackle - a feeder, which will not break due to its small size even under the pressure of a large eel. However, the fishing rod must be equipped with a high-quality reel and fishing line with a section thickness of at least 0.5 millimeters or a special braided thread.
As for the sinkers, they are selected depending on the depth of the reservoir in which the eel hunt takes place. As a rule, 50 to 100 grams of lead, attached 5-10 centimeters from a single hook, is enough. Do not forget that the fish has a very small mouth, so double or triple models significantly reduce the effectiveness of catching it - during hooking there is a high probability of tearing the lip of the snake fish.
Features of catching eels with a pipe
Everything new is well forgotten old. If you want to catch a fish without causing injury to it in the process, then this method will come in handy. It was used several centuries ago (the method is still used in Asian countries). To catch it, it will be enough to use an ordinary bamboo pipe with a diameter of up to 10 centimeters. Once caught in such a trap, the eel will never be able to get out. However, the technique is associated with some risk for the fisherman.
First, you will have to go into the water to get to the snake fish nests. In the hot season, the eel prefers to settle closer to the shore, where the water warms up much faster. Therefore, it would be best to look for fish near reeds or trees that have fallen into the water. Be aware that an electric eel can sting a person quite severely and require medical attention.
Tackle and methods of catching eel
The old-fashioned method of catching eels using a pipe is quite effective, simple, but unfairly forgotten.
Eel is a fish with an elongated, serpentine shape that can do without water for up to 10 - 12 hours. The largest eels can reach a length of up to one and a half meters and weigh up to 6 kilos.
In addition, catching this unusual fish with conventional fishing gear is quite difficult.
But everything new is well forgotten old. Therefore, we will tell you about one interesting method of catching eels, which was used by our grandfathers; it is called “with a pipe”. Today, a similar fishing method is popular in Asian countries.
There, a simple bamboo “flask” is used for this purpose. Once the eel crawls into this trap, it can no longer get out of it. The fisherman will only have to get the desired trophy.
In the process of pulling the pipe out of the water, with the slightest delay, the eel can easily escape, completely unharmed.
Even ordinary fishing with float gear can harm the fish, because if the equipment breaks, the hook remains in the fish’s mouth, and this is a hindrance. The fish stops feeding and dies either from injury or from starvation.
Smoked eel is a real delicacy
Those who have tried cooked eel note that this fish is very tasty when dried or smoked.
The eel is one of the most unique fish found in various bodies of water. It can be found in the seas, in sea bays, in rivers, and in lakes.
There are many legends around this fish, some of which have scientific confirmation, while others do not.
What to catch eels with
Eels bite mainly at night, so you need to choose gear taking into account the activity characteristics of this fish. The most popular equipment for catching eels are donks, which are cast in the evening and checked in the morning. In some cases, when using special fluorescent floats, it is possible to catch eels at night using float gear, both from the shore and from a boat. In small lakes, it is popular to catch eels with mugs, which are placed from a boat and checked in the morning after dawn.
The nozzle must be at the bottom. Experienced fishermen recommend lighting a bright fire on the shore in the immediate vicinity of the fishing spot, which will attract fish.
Tackle for catching eels should be as strong as possible. The eel itself, when fished out, does not provide adequate resistance and is quite simply brought to the surface. The only difficulty is that bites in most cases are invisible to the fisherman. The fish, having sat on the hook, goes into stones or snags.
And in order to pull the catch out of snags and stones, you will have to work hard; thin tackle may simply not withstand such loads. A certain difficulty when landing this fish is the fact that immediately after hooking the eel tries to hide in cover. As soon as he gets to the reeds or stones, he will grab the saving shelter with his whole body, which significantly complicates his fishing. Whereas in clear water there is no difficulty with fish.
Eel is a predatory fish, so it is preferable to use bait of animal origin. It is believed that the best bait for catching eels is the crawling earthworm. Large specimens can also successfully peck at small fish or a piece of meat. But we recommend that you avoid using a variety of cereals and toppings of plant origin. To increase the effectiveness of the baits used, they can be additionally sprayed with attractants with the taste of shellfish or the smell of crab.
It is recommended to feed the fish several hours before sunset and the start of fishing. Chopped earthworms, shellfish and small fish can be used as bait. It is necessary to prepare the bait immediately before using it. But it is recommended to avoid using fresh bait, as this will only scare the fish away from the fishing spot.
The best time to catch eels is twilight and night time. As the sun rises, the fish's activity drops to zero and it stops biting. In the heat of the day, in shallow areas of the reservoir where there are numerous snags and stones, it is possible to catch eels by hand in numerous shelters. During the day, the fish is practically motionless, so you can easily grab it with your hands.
The eel remains active almost all year round. Only with the onset of severe cold weather does the fish go into hibernation and stop biting. The greatest eel activity occurs in summer and early autumn. At this time, both small eels weighing no more than a kilogram and large specimens, the weight of which can reach 4 kilograms, peck greedily.
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Eel fishing
- typically nocturnal and also
. It bites from early spring, when the water warms up to 10°C, until the autumn cold snap. The bite is observed mainly in the evening, before midnight, especially in spring and summer with high, turbid and clear water near the fish’s shelter, if this was also preceded by long-term feeding, which taught the eel to take food during the day (though in most cases it is a pity to catch an eel that has been accustomed in this way) .
To catch eels, you need to be well prepared. Fishing equipment must be strong and durable. Even a small eel is a powerful and worthy fighter. It often happens that while fishing for fish, it clings with its body to underwater roots, branches and algae, which makes it very difficult to remove it from the water. In such situations, reliable tackle will help out. It is simply impossible to tire this fish.
There are several ways to catch it.
Catching eels on a donk
Eels are caught using bottom fishing rods, which are placed overnight, from early spring until late autumn, until the river freezes. Sometimes an eel takes bait both during the day, after a night thunderstorm, and on very hot days before a thunderstorm. The best months for eel fishing are July and August.
Bottom fishing rods for eel fishing are equipped with fairly strong fishing line. Hooks are placed from No. 1 to No. 3, preferably double strength. The leash is veined or made of thin steel wire if the bait is a fish. A carbine is placed between the leash and the line. Feeling hooked, the eel begins to spin around a stone or snag, around itself, trying to free itself from the hook. The usual bait is a large earthworm. Eels are also caught using small fish (minnow, lamprey larva) and frogs.
Eels are mostly caught with a bottom rod in deep places, for example, in harbors, docks, and river mouths. They also place a donk on rapids, tying a heavier load.
Anglers who visit many rivers often set a bottom at night, using an ordinary float rod and equipment with stronger line and hook, and in the morning they take off a good eel.
The eel swallows the bait conscientiously and rarely releases it back. It should be hooked decisively and pulled ashore without any ceremony. A caught eel must be hit on the head or its spine cut off at the head or tail. It is impossible to hold it with your bare hands: a large eel is very strong and twists out of your hands, leaving a layer of mucus on them that is difficult to wash off.
The running bottom is caught using a fairly powerful spinning rod. To do this, at the end of the fishing line, instead of a spinner, a drop-shaped weight weighing 30-50 g is tied (depending on what core and reel the spinning rod is equipped with), and then two leashes with hooks No. 6-8. The first leash is 10-12 cm long at a distance of 25-30 cm, the second is 15-18 cm long at a distance of 60-70 cm from the weight. You can fish at any depth, even shallow, as long as there are no snags at the bottom. They are usually caught from an anchored boat.
After casting, when the weight falls to the bottom, you need to lift the end of the rod and very slowly wind the reel, tighten the line so that the leashes with hooks move barely rising from the bottom. To do this, you need to move the tackle to the boat only by picking up the slack from the sagging line with the reel, and with periodic, about minute, stops every 2-3 m of the line wound on the reel, thus allowing the bait to lie on the bottom at this time. Bites are felt through the rod.
Catching an eel in a plumb line
In places with an uneven bottom, cluttered with large stones, on stone ridges or on stretches with small “windows” between algae, as well as in holes with bottom vegetation and other possible hooks on the bottom, where the eel most often hides, fishing with fishing rods gives good results winter type, jigs with nods, without a float.
You can fish with them using fry or a small lure using the vertical lure method, or using a large jig with an earthworm attachment. They are caught at depths of over 3-4 m. To avoid snags, they hunt for eels only in calm weather, with a slight current. You need to row the boat very slowly and carefully, without noise, without creating excitement, so that you can carefully probe every square meter of the bottom with the tackle.
When searching for food, the eel navigates primarily by smell and taste. This makes it possible to attach it to the place where you are fishing with bait. The eel is carnivorous, so you can bait it with pieces of small fish or the entrails of fish from a previous catch. The eel is not introduced on the day of catching, but this is done in advance for at least several days.
Bait may cause the eel to congregate, but it will not come to a place it has never been before. With good bait, you can even attract bream to the fishing spot, which does not bite, but in the case of an eel, this is impossible. Some companies produce special bait for eels in the form of granules, which can be fed to the fishing site using a slingshot.
The granule dissolves in water, attracting eels with just the smell. Substances that attract this fish are also bone meal, meat and fish, dried and fresh blood. Long-term feeding with crawling pieces gives good results. You can mix an earthworm with regular loose bait for white fish, adding more maggot pupae to it.
Where to catch eel in Russia?
On various fishing forums you can find a lot of interesting information about where is the best place to catch river eel. The most promising place is Old Ostrog, located 32 kilometers from Petropavlovsk. The Avachi River is ideal for the life of freshwater eels. Therefore, fishermen from all over Russia go here to catch a trophy variety of this unusual fish.
What are the features of eel fishing in Stary Ostrog? Of course, in search of a promising place where there will be a lot of fish. Preference should be given to beaches with a lot of reeds around them. However, the largest specimens prefer to settle at great depths, so you will need to use not only good bottom tackle, but also some kind of swimming device.
If you are unable to find a place with eels, you can use the help of local residents, advice from forums, or purchase a special bite activator - an electronic device that emits a sound of a certain frequency and lures large individuals from all over the area. Although professional fishermen say that such decoys may soon be banned.
River eel - when and where to catch
Places where eels have been spotted by local fishermen:
- R. Alexander (Zichron Yaakov area);
- Yarkon park area (pond);
- Ashdod (r. Lachish);
- Kinneret;
- Jordan;
- Ashkelon (banana plantations);
- Nir David;
- Nahal Harod.
Distribution in other countries
It is found in almost all freshwater bodies of water that are not cold. The variety of gear used for eel fishing will be discussed below.
The spring period is favorable for eel fishing, since the fish lives near the shore at a water temperature of at least 10 degrees. In summer (closer to night), the eel swims on the water surface. Autumn is also not a bad time to hunt eels.
The most suitable weather conditions for fishing:
- low atmospheric pressure;
- starless night sky;
- moonless night;
- warm weather;
- lack of morning dew;
- absence of both morning and evening fogs.
Biting activity is observed from the evening until late at night.
The most suitable places for catching this serpentine freshwater inhabitant are areas with the largest amount of food and suitable for shelter:
- rocky bottom;
- shady bottom;
- area of water with vegetation and root debris;
- areas with flooded trees;
- swampy waters;
- creeks;
- ducts;
- rubble;
- pits;
- sand and gravel quarries;
- places with muddy water;
- places with clean water near the fish’s refuge (after prolonged feeding).
There are many options and methods for catching this fish. The main principle for choosing gear is the characteristics of the reservoir and the attachment used.
Fishing options:
- without fishing hook;
- on a needle;
- per bottle;
- to cast (in a plumb line);
- for bottom tackle;
- on float tackle;
- on picker;
- on mugs;
- to the feeder
Catching an eel with a needle would be appropriate when it is in a hole, then a cloudy cloud gathers near it. Take a long stick and attach a needle with animal bait, for example a worm (dungworm or dendrobena), to the end. A fishing line is attached to the middle, one end of which is held by hand. With the other hand, the line is slowly lowered into the shelter. The eel grabs the worm and the needle gets stuck in its throat. Then, the fishing line is pulled sharply and the prey is caught.
And here is a fascinating video about catching an eel in a similar way by Asian colleagues (fishing it out of a mink) using a trap
Donkey equipment:
- monofilament fishing line (diameter 0.35 – 0.40 mm);
- soft fishing line for fishing leashes from 0.25 to 0.30 mm (the length of the 1st to the weight is 10-15 cm, the 2nd - to the bottom of the reservoir;
- disposable hooks No. 4-6;
- weight (from 30 to 50 pear-shaped (attached to the end of the main fishing line);
- fasteners, swivels for connection.
One of the types of gear is a seine.
Picker tackle rigging. Feature - instead of a leash with a weight, it is possible to use a feeder, which is attached to the leash with a nozzle.
Anglers who fish in reservoirs with stagnant water often use mugs, the method and equipment of which can be read on the pages of our website
The eel is a migratory fish and spends almost all its time in fresh river water. Spawning occurs in the sea. It feeds on frogs, insect larvae, and small fish. It is surprising that the eel goes to spawn 8,000 km from its habitat, into the Sargasso Sea. The larvae are transparent, small on the surface of the water with the Gulf Stream in three years, swim to the shores of Europe, come to the mouths of rivers and rise upstream.
They live in rivers for about 9-12 years, then migrate again to the spawning site, spawn and die. The migration route was only proven in 2016. This is such a little-studied fish. They live during the feeding period in the rivers of Europe in the Baltic Sea basin and in small numbers in the rivers in the Black, Caspian, Barents, and White Sea basins.
ARTICLES ► Fishing ► Fishing ► Eel Catching.
The European river eel is a predatory fish of the eel family, which has a natural habitat in rivers and lakes belonging to the Baltic Sea basin. Currently, the eel is of great interest for industrial and trophy fishing, so it was artificially stocked in numerous rivers and lakes, where it successfully lives.
The river eel is an active predator that can reach a mass of 4 kilograms and a length of about 2 meters. The eel feeds on small fish, frogs, insect larvae, worms and other foods of animal origin.
Due to its culinary value, this fish is of great interest to fishermen. Eel fishing is carried out mainly at night and, with proper preparation, can bring excellent results.
August 23, 2011 Hunting and fishing, River fish, Eel
The eel is a typically nocturnal and predatory fish. Therefore, to catch it you will definitely need not only gear, but also an electric flashlight with a good rechargeable battery.
Before catching an eel, it is also a good idea to familiarize yourself in detail with the features of the area, since in the approaching darkness it is difficult to keep an eel caught on a fishing rod, which constantly wriggles and turns, making loops.
And it is almost impossible to catch a fish that has slipped out.
What to catch eels with
The eel can be caught using a variety of baits as it is quite omnivorous. In spring and summer, it is most often caught using red worms and crawlers, and in autumn – with small fish.
To catch eels, they use mainly live specimens, but if none are found, they are completely replaced by dead minnows, smelt, minnows, small loaches, lampreys, and loaches. They can be taken whole (if they are small) or in pieces (if they are large).
As practice shows, the eel does not disdain plant baits: for example, in France and Germany it is also caught using green or steamed peas, cheese and beans.
When fishing for eels, everything is very seasonal: in the spring, the main fish are worms - dung and earthworms, insect larvae that live in water, and leeches. In summer they also begin to catch eels using dead and live fish.
In general, it is preferable to catch it using fish tails, but just a piece of meat will do.
Starting from the very early spring, when the water temperature has just reached 10 degrees above zero, eels are already well caught. And such production continues until the autumn frosts.
The greatest activity is observed from evening to midnight - especially in summer and spring, at high water, regardless of the degree of turbidity. The best fishing spots are those located close to the eel's hiding place.
Before you start fishing, you need to feed the eel for a long time so that it takes even during the daytime. However, the most optimal period for catching eels is at the end of July.
The most favorable factors for eel fishing are:
- absence of dew and fog over the water;
- warm and muggy weather, often accompanied by short-term light rain;
- absence of stars and moon in the night sky;
- low atmospheric pressure.
In summer, eels are caught with a bottom equipped with a triple or double hook. The fishing lines are strong and reliable, made on the basis of nylon thread or hemp. The rod used is no less strong, capable of supporting the weight of the fish, since it is simply impossible to tire the eel.
That’s why they don’t catch it because of the fear of losing not only the prey, but also all the gear, because, feeling caught, the eel tends to swim under a snag, into a hole, or wrap a fishing line around objects under water. In such a situation, strong, reliable tackle comes in handy.
To catch eels, they also use a fishing rod with a fishing line with a cross-section from 0.35 mm to 0.5 mm, hooks number 2 or 3, a set of sinkers (or one sinker), a float and a swivel. But most often, eels are caught with a loaded fishing rod - both with and without a float. Less often - with a “gallows” or floating bait (sometimes with its lowering and rising).
Methods of catching eel
Methods of catching eels are directly related to the bait and type of reservoir. The following are known today:
- catching an eel without a hook;
- catching eels with a “needle”;
- catching an eel with a hook or a plumb line;
- catching eels on a bottom without a float;
- catching eels with a float.
Catching eels with a “needle” is practiced in cases where the fish is stuck in a hole.
This can be recognized by a subtle cloud of turbidity near the entrance, which arises as a result of the movement of a hidden eel (these holes are usually made by water rats, so they are clearly visible from the shore).
This fishing method, which originates in Scotland, is fully justified here. It consists of sticking a needle with a worm threaded through it into the top of a long stick. It is securely tied to a strong fishing line in the middle (it is held in the right hand).
At the same time, with the left hand, the stick is gradually lowered into the water before entering the hole. Seeing the prey, the fish immediately swallows the bait with a needle, which gets stuck in its throat, so the fisherman can only pull the end of the fishing line to pull the eel ashore.
Catching eels with a cast and without a float involves the use of short fishing rods and long fishing lines. In this case, there is absolutely no need to hold them in your hands, which makes it possible to catch eel on several of them at once. Instead of a sinker (especially when fishing in fast water), a round-shaped bullet, which is drilled through, is best suited.
It also happens: Do-it-yourself stand for donks and fishing rods
Eel fishing on Seliger
Lake Beloglazov will be an ideal reservoir for catching fish. At the great depths of this reservoir, you can catch really large specimens, the size of which often exceeds 2 meters in length, and their weight reaches 5 kilograms. As for the color, it is mostly black. Therefore, an eel caught on Seliger can be easily distinguished from one caught in Stary Ostrog.
The fish behaves quite passively, so you can use almost any tackle to catch it. The most important thing is that the fishing line can withstand the weight of a large specimen, and that the hooks fit into its mouth. As for bait, in most cases fish meat or live bait is used. However, the largest individuals, as a rule, are caught by various imitators that can be purchased locally.
It is also best to acquire bait in advance, which will allow you to attract individuals from all over the area to your fishing spot. Finding eel nests on a lake can be incredibly difficult, so most fishermen simply row a boat further from shore, throw in a few pellets of pheromone-laced food, and wait for a bite.
What kind of fish is an eel?
The eel has a snake-like body covered with small, dense scales and mucus. The back is a beautiful steel color, the belly is white. The mouth has many small and sharp teeth.
Mature individuals grow over one meter in length. Such eels weigh at least four kilograms. Powerful, beautiful fish. It is of great commercial importance.
According to ichthyologists, predominantly females live in the fresh waters of rivers and lakes. At the age of five to seven years, they go to meet their partners in the Baltic Sea and further to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. The eel spawns once in its life. After spawning it dies.
It is active from April to November. It feeds on mollusks, crustaceans, fish fry, and does not disdain beetles or dragonflies that have unsuccessfully splashed down. In winter, it spends time buried in the sand and wakes up only during prolonged thaws.
It is believed that eels can live on land for some time. Scientists refute it. Fishermen do not value the opinion of scientists when they catch eels in the wet grass at night.
Most likely the truth is somewhere in the middle. The eel, of course, cannot live on land, but it is fine to come ashore for a short time.
Juvenile eels live in coastal grass thickets. As he gets older, he goes to deeper places. Prefers a cluttered or sloppy bottom.
