17lb 15oz eel

[ColinW]

I think there's more to being an eel angler than fishing for eels. I've spent the odd night eel fishing but I still wouldn't regard myself as an eel angler. If I'd caught a big eel (which would be a complete fluke) I don't imagine it would give me a fraction of the pleasure it would give someone who had put in the time and effort seriously trying to catch one. I can't imagine anything harder in British angling that deliberately setting out to catch a really big eel.

[Anderoo]

That's an amazing creature - congratulations

 

An eel angler is an angler trying to catch eels. An eel specialist is an angler who specialises in catching eels. Either way, this wasn't a fluke, which is the point being made.

Edited August 7, 2006 by Anderoo

[Marginmaster]

If any "Proper" eel anglers are interested, I had a fish of exactly the same weight from Catch 22 in norfolk two years ago whilst carp fishing, probably a water worth targeting.

[Steve Burke]

Warren, many congratulations on an absolutely cracking eel! Cracking photo too!

 

Brian's choice of words was perhaps unfortunate. However, most of us know full well what he means.

[Dick Dastardly]

I don’t think its "snobbishness" at all. Some one intentionally targeting a species (with all that that entails i.e. the selection of the water, the type of tackle, the type of bait, the type of rig, the correctly applied watercraft to put the pre mentioned in the right place to give the best chance of achieving your target etc etc).

 

Snobbishness is when only a certain type of tackle, water, method, bait etc is acceptable due to "fashion" regardless of whether it is the "correct/best" choice for the job.

 

A lot of big fish of other species are caught accidentally/none intentionally by anglers targeting carp. I don’t think this is entirely down to the bolt rig, boilly and buzzer approach being "better" just down to the simple maths of the amount of anglers putting in the amount of rod hours using this approach.

 

Many if not most of these captures mean nothing to the angler. At worse they are regarded as a pain in the backside!

 

I’m all for anglers being "all rounders" but there is nothing at all "all round" about fishing/catching every thing the same way!

 

If a guy catches an accidental specimen and gets pleasure from it then great all power to him! I’m certainly not going to knock it, its just one of anglings "bonuses". But to suggest it is as worthy (which incidentally no one here initially was really suggesting that there was a different level of merit) is ridiculous.

 

On a personal basis I like to class myself as an all-rounder. I target several different species individually. That said there is often an "overlap" especially when (as mentioned) using such universal big fish bait such as worm. All fish I catch I enjoy but for me the ones I enjoy the most aren’t necessarily the biggest but the ones I have worked the most for intentionally.

 

Am I a snob?