Jump to content

Eels by accident

robtherake

By robtherake
in Coarse Fishing

 Share

Recommended Posts

robtherake Member

robtherake

Posted
Posted

I spent a few hours after crucians this morning, but caught eels instead. Let me explain.

 

At low tide, yesterday afternoon, I took the dogs for a walk across the beach. We got as far as the rocks and tidal pools, when it struck me that winkles might make a good bait for carp, so I collected some and took them home. Boiled up and extracted, I ended up with a pint or so......fast forward to dawn today and I'm float fishing a winkle at the bottom of the marginal shelf on a lake where this tactic has caught me some nice crucians, albeit on other baits.

 

The float pulls just under and holds there and the answering strike connects with what is obviously not a crucian. An eel of maybe a pound and a half is soon in the net. Eleven eels later (like peas in a pod, unless it was the same one on eleven separate occasions) I am left wondering if I've discovered an eel bait par excellence.

 

It could be a one-off, but these are the first eels I've caught there in thirty years or more.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Ken L Member

Ken L

Posted
Posted
Here you go Phone.

Species caught in 2020: Barbel. European Eel. Bleak. Perch. Pike.

Species caught in 2019: Pike. Bream. Tench. Chub. Common Carp. European Eel. Barbel. Bleak. Dace.

Species caught in 2018: Perch. Bream. Rainbow Trout. Brown Trout. Chub. Roach. Carp. European Eel.

Species caught in 2017: Siamese carp. Striped catfish. Rohu. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Black Minnow Shark. Perch. Chub. Brown Trout. Pike. Bream. Roach. Rudd. Bleak. Common Carp.

Species caught in 2016: Siamese carp. Jullien's golden carp. Striped catfish. Mekong catfish. Amazon red tail catfish. Arapaima. Alligator gar. Rohu. Black Minnow Shark. Roach, Bream, Perch, Ballan Wrasse. Rudd. Common Carp. Pike. Zander. Chub. Bleak.

Species caught in 2015: Brown Trout. Roach. Bream. Terrapin. Eel. Barbel. Pike. Chub.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
les middy Member

les middy

Posted
Posted
rob,

 

OK - I give up - what the 'ell is a winkle?

 

Phone

 

rob,

 

OK - I give up - what the 'ell is a winkle?

 

Phone

 

PHONE.

 

feast your eyes on these Winkles

 

A small pin to get them out of shell and eat them yourself lovley :thumbs:

Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place.

 

The difference between light and hard is that you can sleep with a light on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
robtherake Member

robtherake

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Had the same problem using prawns for perch.

 

I wouldn't say it was a problem, Barry. I've always known there were eels in there, but they're infrequently caught (certainly in my own experience); what struck me is that winkles may be a very selective bait for eels both here and elsewhere. Those who actually like to fish for eels may be able to take advantage of that if it works regularly, bearing in mind it was only a single session so it's hard to draw any real conclusions without further experimentation.

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Vagabond Member

Vagabond

Posted
Posted

Practically any shellfish bait will catch eels - cockles are deadly.

 

....and something that works on back-beach gravel pits - king ragworm !

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
robtherake Member

robtherake

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Practically any shellfish bait will catch eels - cockles are deadly.

 

....and something that works on back-beach gravel pits - king ragworm !

 

I've heard mentioned that rag can be a top carp bait too. What else have you caught on it?

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed."

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Vagabond Member

Vagabond

Posted
Posted
I've heard mentioned that rag can be a top carp bait too. What else have you caught on it?

 

Lots of seafish :) .....but in the sea :)

 

To be honest, I have never tried it in freshwater except in those waters very close to the sea, where there is at least some element of brackishness - either due to occasional very high spring tides, or in the case of back-beach gravel pits, wind-driven salt spray entering the water. It catches eels, bass and flounders, in the estuaries and associated dykes and eels in the pits.

 

Never tried ragworm in "real" freshwater, mainly because I don't think they would last too long (if you are beachfishing, rain will kill your ragworm quite quickly if you don't protect them from it) - and dead rag "go off" very quickly.

 

My mate Fred had a huge catch of eels from about 4lb to "well over 6lb" (I think it was 16 eels in all) on this bait on a water within a quarter mile of the sea. No, at first I didn't believe him either (he told me about it the first time we met, as he had caught them only a few days before and was still pretty hyped-up about it) until he pulled out the photos he had taken, from which I could see his estimate of 6lb for the biggest was if anything, an underestimate.

 

 

RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
barry luxton Member

barry luxton

Posted
Posted (edited)

How nice to see a recovery from the stated 98% depletion of the stock, there was one count used in particular of 50 eels at the upper thames. Can us salties start catching and eating them again, or have we to rely on them horrible pots of commercial jellied eels still. :D

Edited by barry luxton

Free to choose apart from the ones where the trust poked their nose in. Common eel. tope. Bass and sea bream. All restricted.


New for 2016 TAT are the main instigators for the demise of the u k bass charter boat industry, where they went screaming off to parliament and for the first time assisting so called angling gurus set up bass take bans with the e u using rubbish exaggerated info collected by ices from anglers, they must be very proud.

Upgrade, the door has been closed with regards to anglers being linked to the e u superstate and the failed c f p. So TAT will no longer need to pay monies to the EAA anymore as that org is no longer relevant to the u k . Goodbye to the europeon anglers alliance and pathetic restrictions from the e u.

Angling is better than politics, ban politics from angling.

Consumer of bass. where is the evidence that the u k bass stock need angling trust protection. Why won't you work with your peers instead of castigating them. They have the answer.

Recipie's for mullet stew more than welcomed.

Angling sanitation trust and kent and sussex sea anglers org delete's and blocks rsa's alternative opinion on their face book site. Although they claim to rep all.

new for 2014. where is the evidence that the south coast bream stock need the angling trust? Your campaign has no evidence. Why won't you work with your peers, the inshore under tens? As opposed to alienating them? Angling trust failed big time re bait digging, even fish legal attempted to intervene and failed, all for what, nothing.

Looks like the sea angling reps have been coerced by the ifca's to compose sea angling strategy's that the ifca's at some stage will look at drafting into legislation to manage the rsa, because they like wasting tax payers money. That's without asking the rsa btw. You know who you are..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.

  I accept