Eel fishing

[greensider]

Hit a spot I have not fished in over 30 years we only managed one decent one not a monster like I have caught there but still a decent one

[lowaccord66]

Looks like a good one.  Id skin it and throw that skin on a striper plug.  Smoke the eel and eat it!

[rgfixit]

Nice slimer!

Caught many an eel off shore at our family cottage on Lake Ontario in the 60's. Used to trade them to a Ukrainian lady up the road from us. I'd bring her eels ( which she prized) and she would bring us a small keg of Slivovitz plum brandy.....which she made.

Fond memories for sure.

Rg

[jperch]

Eels are not my favorite fish but they are interesting.  We also caught lots of them in Lake O, especially in the spring when bullhead fishing near Rochester.  We tried to eat exactly one of them and thought it was awful.  Twenty years ago around Oswego eels were very common and we encountered them frequently when snorkeling.  At the risk of being called out by the "eel police" I'll share a game we played while snorkelling.  We called it "eel tickling".  We snorkelled along the surface until an eel was spotted, usually they were in the cracks in the rocks.  You held your breath and dove down the 8 to 12 feet and attempted to touch the tail of the eel.  We made every effort to not grab the end that had the teeth.  Bonus points awarded for momentarily getting a grip on the eel.  Anyway, no eels were harmed.  The most interesting thing about the eels is that they seem to have all but vanished from our area.  I have no idea why.  There has been so many changes in the fish populations in Lake O during my lifetime.  Certainly the lake is a lot cleaner than when I was a kid, no doubt that has played a role.

[trapper2000]

you put that thing in your  net  that's  as  bad as  netting a laker ......

jperch I was  wondering about that myself I was  wondering  could  the poison they use  for lapreys  kill them?

[jperch]

I don't know for sure trapper.  I think the lampracides are applied in streams to kill lampreys when they are in early development.  From what I  read many years ago our American eels actually spawn in the ocean.  Part of what makes them interesting!  If all that is true then it seems like the apparent decline in the eel population probably has a different cause.  Good question for a DEC fish biologist.

[ran7ger]

don't american eels only spawn in the saragosa sea?

[jperch]

I believe that is exactly what I read many moons ago.  Pretty amazing.

[rgfixit]

don't american eels only spawn in the saragosa sea?

That is absolutely true.

Rg

[greensider]

Cool stuff thanks for sharing and as far as the teeth although much smaller I will take a 10 foot Python bite over an eel and I have had both

[Pequod1]

Growing up on the Island, we caught plenty of eels. I used to sell the smaller eels under 14” for a quarter to the local bait store.  The larger eels, we would speer with long trident pointed spears either from the boat in Great South Bay or through the ice in the wintertime.  Unfortunately, the baby eels of 3-5” long made the mistake of swimming to the mouths of the estuaries on the south shore.  They were so tightly packed you couldn’t see the water.  Two things happened. Estuaries are prime real estate and were completely drained, and are now marinas and condos. Also the Asian market payed big bucks for them.  The populations of eels were decimated during the late 60’s through the 70’s
Progress.

[trapper2000]

interesting  creature 

[icejohn]

While in the coast guard in Oswego there was a state trooper who had a pontoon boat with a generator and would shock the eels in the lake...take them live to Baltimore sell them and they would be shipped to Europe...I believe at the time he was getting $3.50/pound....that was in the early 80's.

[trapper2000]

he  use to  do carp too

[taxid]

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/american-eel-is-in-danger-of-extinction/