Handling / Unhooking Larger Eels

[philocalist]

Peter

 

I'm sure you already read it but on another forum (MD) theres a guy bragging about writing a weekly column advising gripping the eel with newspaper, did'nt really want to comment on there as it could have turned into a bit of an issue but if new column writers come out with that sort of stuff then how are new anglers going to know the difference between good practice and bad

 

Yep :-) ... that's what prompted me to post on here, rather than get into a cat-fight elsewhere ;-)

[davedave]

I heard once to dig a small trench and lay the eel in that when unhooking it. Never done it, always assumed it would take slime off them. I just unhook eels in the net with a pair of forceps but they can be buggers for taking it down, even the smallest ones.

But i've never had an eel over about a pound so can't really comment on bigguns.

 

Dave

[philocalist]

I'll confess, one of the bigger worries I had when starting this thread was that (being largely unfamiliar with eels / avoiding them like the plague), was getting bitten - visions of a mini-Moray clamping down etc

From what I've been able to glean, the teeth in an eel are more like short stumpy pegs rather than pointy teeth that would penetrate flesh and as such, the worst I'm likely to encounter (even if it IS a rarity) is a nip / crush type bite from a bigger eel, rather than anything else?

Can anyone perhaps confirm this please?

[Rob Ward]

Tony Jolley who used to post on this forum was a bit of an eel nut, president of the NAC at one point.

 

He reckons he doesn't remove the hook from any eel where the hook is outside the mouth and snips the line, he's retained them in keepnets overnight and reckons the hooks are always in the keepnet next morning.

[Dick Dastardly]

As I said in my initial reply things have moved on a lot. There is simply NO NEED to deep hook any more if INTENTIONALY fishing for eels.However your not going to be able to avoid it if they come along when fishing for other species........normally though when they are caught like this we are using quite small hooks.I DONT for one minute belive they can get rid of the hooh if you cut the line (however I still plan sack up one to find out 100% ....but since planning to do this coincided with my experiments with "T" rigs barbless hooks and circle hooks along with my much reduced time one the bank Ive not yet had one deep hooked to try it on!) but its still the better bet than digging around.

[Phone]

philo

 

I'm no expert - either catching them or releasing them. I've only caught perhaps half dozen in my life. The eels I've encountered have strong jaws with sharp teeth.

 

I'll ask at coffee. A couple New York guys used to target eels.

 

Phone

[lutra]

I'll confess, one of the bigger worries I had when starting this thread was that (being largely unfamiliar with eels / avoiding them like the plague), was getting bitten - visions of a mini-Moray clamping down etc

From what I've been able to glean, the teeth in an eel are more like short stumpy pegs rather than pointy teeth that would penetrate flesh and as such, the worst I'm likely to encounter (even if it IS a rarity) is a nip / crush type bite from a bigger eel, rather than anything else?

Can anyone perhaps confirm this please?

Only had them to mid fives, but no not very big teeth. More a vice like grip that can draw blood if you try and pull your finger out, which you would.

 

The good news is I've never seen one jump at someone and bite them, so you should be ok so long as you don't put your fingers in its mouth.

Edited March 10, 2013 by lutra