I know from the "most disliked fish thread" a lot of you don't like eels.
But as we are now able to fish the rivers again and no doubt many of you will be cursing the eels you will catch by accident, Please. please try to treat them with a bit of respect. as you would wish to see YOUR favourite fish treated by other anglers.
As said in the other thread eels need friends.
If the hook can't be see cut the line and let her go, Don't take the 10 minutes to get a 5 pence hook back as also mentioned in the other thread. (Shocking by any standards!!), Is it really worth the death of the eel for that hook ???.

Sorry for preaching.
Enjoy your season.

Regards.
Anthony Jolley.
Environmental officer.
National Anguilla Club.

I don't minds eels at all, but would be happy to catch a better specimen size eel!

Well said :cool:

I love catching big eels, anything that helps the little ones survive and have a chance to grow is good. It's amazing how the small ones particularly seem to have this knack of swallowing everthing without even causing a quivertip to twitch. It doesn't seem to happen so much with the bigger ones fortunately.

Big eels seem to be getting fewer and fewer though which is a great shame.

Will

Its not that I dont like eels Tony.........its just that there are better baits ONLY JOKING MATE! even though Im not to keen on small eels I still treat them with the same respect as other fish.Just rather catch them at 3lb+ but wouldnt we all!

It's funny but I havent caght an Eel on the Medway for years, in the past if you ledgered maggot or worm in Summer and Autumn you were inundated with them.
Now plenty small roach skimmers etc. but no Eels there steting scarce so follow the other Tony's advice.
Budgie, do you get many on the Rother it also used to be full of them?

Dont often fish with methods that would attract eels but in general I would have to say there seems to be a lot less in the freshwater reachs.Would certainly agree about the Medway but one river I fish (Warickshire Avon) seems to have more in the higher reachs than it used to.Severn seems less and the Kennet to.

The places I have noticed the biggest decline are still waters though.In recent years a lot of the waters on Romney Marsh have been heavily Fyke netted by commercial netters.There must be an over all decline in numbers because when I used to comercialy net eels (sea running silvers) there wasnt a market for freshwater eels! the fact that there now is surely points to a decline in salt water catchs?

Tony - I had one 3lbs 4oz last night - a most welcome sight - and I lipped it for a bonus 10pts!



to be honest though, I was hoping it fell off, until I saw where the hook was....

Budgie,
I agree we all would sooner catch large eels.
But believe it or not I do like to fish a very small river near my home were I have never had a eel over the 1.5lb mark.
I get a buzz with the light tackle as a 1lb eel fights well on the float rod. The river is sort of making a recovery from centuarys of pollution so I like to see the small eels in the river, Brings me hope that there may be eels to catch in the coming years.

Awaaar. well done. nice fish. make the most of it mate.

Thanks for the constructive posts guys.

I think Budgie speaks for many of us as we realise that the species is in decline and would do our best to return them unharmed. I admire and respect them but I don't like them.

Nice post Paul. As you state you dont have to like them to respect them.
Thanks.