Snake or fish?
The appearance of the eel causes a lot of controversy among professional and novice fishermen, even in the age of highly developed information technology. Some people call it an “underwater snake” that can do without air, while others are sure that it is just an unusual fish, like some kind of stingray. What do scientists say about this? Yes, practically nothing. They simply classified both freshwater and saltwater eels as fish, despite their resemblance to snakes.
The appearance of the fish is quite remarkable: it has a very long body, which is completely covered with scales. The color can range from black to dark green depending on the body of water in which the eel lives. The small head is distinguished by a forward lower jaw, which makes the fish so much like a snake. The oral cavity is completely covered with small teeth. Individuals reach an average of two meters in length, and their weight usually does not exceed 4 kilograms.
Eel: description
The eel has a rather long body, so many peoples do not eat it as they do not consider it a fish. The body has a cylindrical shape, and the tail is more flattened on the sides. The eel's head is quite small and slightly flattened. Experts distinguish several types of acne, depending on the shape of the nose. The nose can be short, long, narrow or wide. The eel's lower jaw is somewhat longer than the upper jaw, although each of them is studded with sharp but small teeth.
The eyes of this fish are not large, yellowish-silver in color. The operculum does not completely adhere to the surface of the body due to the fact that the openings themselves are quite narrow and significantly shifted from the back of the head.
The dorsal fin, together with the caudal fin, form a single long fin. There are pectoral fins and they are well developed, but there are no ventral fins.
If you just look at the eel, it seems completely naked, but if you remove the mucus and carefully examine it, you can see elongated scales that cover the entire surface of the body. The color of the eel can vary depending on its habitat. The belly of the eel is yellow-white or bluish-gray.
Features of behavior
Have you decided to start catching river eels? Then you should know about the basic habits that are characteristic of snake fish. In most cases, eels are found in deep bodies of water - this includes not only rivers, but also lakes, reservoirs and ponds. The type of soil is not so important, since the fish adapts well to both sand and silt. The salinity of the water also does not matter much - the eel feels comfortable both in the sea and in the aquarium.
During the rainy season, eels usually swim from one body of water to another - the ideal time of year to catch them. They usually use various snags, vegetation, burrows and other natural shelters as nests. At night, the fish go hunting. Among possible prey, the predator gives preference to small fish that it will be able to swallow. From this it follows that the optimal bait for it will be live bait.
What to catch eel with - choice of bait
It is the right choice of bait for catching eels that can significantly determine the entire outcome of the fishing itself. In practice, there are many baits that the predator itself can bite on.
Animal bait
Eels can be caught using peas and pieces of cheese, but there are baits that can be used to catch eels more effectively:
- Crawling and earthworm.
- Live bait - this can be bleak or loach, or other narrow-bodied fish.
- Pieces of fish and shellfish, as well as snails.
It is best to take an earthworm for bait, which is placed entirely on the hook. If the earthworms are not large, they attach 2-3 whole worms, and it is with this kind of bait that you can get a good catch.
Important! Since this fish has a very well developed sense of smell, when choosing bait, choose those that do not have a specific smell.
Artificial bait
When catching eels, you can use fish pellets as artificial bait, which are put on a hook and attached to it with a hair. The main thing to remember is that you put no more than 15 mm on the hook, and the hair should be strong and short.
When catching predators, you can also use special wobblers - most often the following brands are used for night eel fishing:
- Dorado Invader 7S and
- Liberty BITE 130F.
- Liberty Deep Runner 800F.
- Salmo Perch P08SDR
- HALCO Sorcerer 125.
All of them have an excellent, sweeping game, but provided that the leash is even and not so fast.
Best time of year for fishing
Are you planning to go eel fishing in winter? We recommend that you immediately abandon such a futile activity. Since this fish is considered to be very heat-loving and begins to bite well only with the arrival of spring. Of course, many examples can be given when professional fishermen caught several individuals in the winter season, however, this is only an accident, not a pattern. Snakefish fishing is best done in warm water in the summer.
As a rule, they go for eels in the evening, since the main activity of the fish occurs at night, and subsides closer to dawn. In addition, in cloudy and rainy weather you can wait for a bite during the day, however, the chances of catching a truly trophy species are much higher after sunset. To catch an eel at lunchtime, you will have to know the fish’s habitat in order to lower the bait attached to the bottom tackle into the nest.
Bait and methods of production
Catching electric eels, which are best found in murky freshwater bodies, requires proper preparation. For example, you should stock up on a tent, good gear, and warm clothes in advance, since catching a predator can take a lot of time and effort.
As for bait, the following types of bait are usually used:
- a bunch of red worms;
- pieces of fish or live bait;
- boiled crayfish neck;
- chopped pieces of meat;
- insect larvae, leeches.
Also, we should not forget that the size of the bait must fully correspond to the size of the eel’s mouth. A large individual will almost never peck at one worm or a small piece of fish. This rule is especially relevant if you decide to use some kind of emitting bait - a twister, a spinner, a wobbler, and so on.
Using a donkey as a tackle
The eel is quite a strong opponent, so to catch it you will have to use a fishing rod that will not break while the fisherman is trying to pull the catch ashore. The ideal option would be ordinary bottom tackle - a feeder, which will not break due to its small size even under the pressure of a large eel. However, the fishing rod must be equipped with a high-quality reel and fishing line with a section thickness of at least 0.5 millimeters or a special braided thread.
As for the sinkers, they are selected depending on the depth of the reservoir in which the eel hunt takes place. As a rule, 50 to 100 grams of lead, attached 5-10 centimeters from a single hook, is enough. Do not forget that the fish has a very small mouth, so double or triple models significantly reduce the effectiveness of catching it - during hooking there is a high probability of tearing the lip of the snake fish.
Eel fishing gear
It is best to catch this predator using a fishing rod - you choose it at your own discretion, since the eel is not so picky. The main thing that a fisherman should remember is to choose the optimal spinning rod and a medium-sized hook and line, but we’ll talk about this later.
Rod
It should be strong and have a sensitive tip, and most importantly the sinker itself should not be heavy - you are not supposed to cast too far. So you can choose a rod with a length from 2 to 4 meters; it is best to choose spinning rod types, feeder or picker rods.
Coil
You should choose a spinning reel with a sufficient supply of fishing line - as a rule, it is optimal if there are 150-200 meters of the latter on it. The main thing is that the clutch must be strong and have precise settings when waiting for a bite, as well as for fishing the hunter.
Important! Experienced fishermen put marks near the clutch so that they can change the settings at a crucial moment.
fishing line
When hunting this predator, it is worth remembering that it has sharp teeth and can easily bite through a thin fishing line made of hair or silk.
Therefore, they choose a fishing line with a cross-section of at least 0.2 - 0.35 mm, but it is not recommended to use a thicker line, so as not to alert this fish. And although it’s impossible to call an eel shy, you shouldn’t take a thicker fishing line.
Hooks, sinkers
Since the eel’s mouth is small in size, it is accordingly worth choosing a small-caliber hook for fishing. Accordingly, for eel fishing, you should choose a hook number 7 or 8, the rod of which is cast thick and straight. You can also catch eels with a hook with a large shank; some anglers take double or triple hooks.
Features of catching eels with a pipe
Everything new is well forgotten old. If you want to catch a fish without causing injury to it in the process, then this method will come in handy. It was used several centuries ago (the method is still used in Asian countries). To catch it, it will be enough to use an ordinary bamboo pipe with a diameter of up to 10 centimeters. Once caught in such a trap, the eel will never be able to get out. However, the technique is associated with some risk for the fisherman.
First, you will have to go into the water to get to the snake fish nests. In the hot season, the eel prefers to settle closer to the shore, where the water warms up much faster. Therefore, it would be best to look for fish near reeds or trees that have fallen into the water. Be aware that an electric eel can sting a person quite severely and require medical attention.
Grilled eel recipe
1. Salt the whole eel in a cup, this will help get rid of the mucus. We rinse the carcasses, remove the intestines and, having cut the fish along the ridge, cut off pieces of fillet. We cut the eel meat into 10-centimeter portions and string them onto small wooden skewers. Pour water into the pressure cooker and place the kebabs in it for 10 minutes, covering with a lid. Remove the fish fillets from the skewers and quickly cool in ice water. 2. Prepare the marinade. Finely chop the onion, lettuce and carrots. Fry them in a frying pan with oil until darkened. Add Mirin rice wine to the vegetables, stir and set the vegetable mixture on fire. When the alcohol burns out, add sugar and soy sauce. Boil everything down to a quarter volume. 3. Line a baking sheet with paper and place the eel on it, put it on the grill. Cook the dish over a fire, periodically brushing the sauce on all sides of the fish pieces. We repeat the procedure 5-6 times.
Where to catch eel in Russia?
On various fishing forums you can find a lot of interesting information about where is the best place to catch river eel. The most promising place is Old Ostrog, located 32 kilometers from Petropavlovsk. The Avachi River is ideal for the life of freshwater eels. Therefore, fishermen from all over Russia go here to catch a trophy variety of this unusual fish.
What are the features of eel fishing in Stary Ostrog? Of course, in search of a promising place where there will be a lot of fish. Preference should be given to beaches with a lot of reeds around them. However, the largest specimens prefer to settle at great depths, so you will need to use not only good bottom tackle, but also some kind of swimming device.
If you are unable to find a place with eels, you can use the help of local residents, advice from forums, or purchase a special bite activator - an electronic device that emits a sound of a certain frequency and lures large individuals from all over the area. Although professional fishermen say that such decoys may soon be banned.
Preparing a place for eel fishing
Upon arrival at the fishing site, you should prepare to ensure a comfortable stay. All garbage on the shore is placed in large bags. Anything that can burn is left for the fire. We definitely light a fire. It will warm you during the dubar.
Next you need to feed and attract the eel. How it's done? If you have a special rocket for baiting carp, then fill it with food and make 4-5 casts. We throw it into the pit area. As food we use shellfish, chopped worms, toad legs and some mixed feed. To make the rocket fly well, we fill it with more sand. This mixture is delivered to fishing points.
Eel fishing on Seliger
Lake Beloglazov will be an ideal reservoir for catching fish. At the great depths of this reservoir, you can catch really large specimens, the size of which often exceeds 2 meters in length, and their weight reaches 5 kilograms. As for the color, it is mostly black. Therefore, an eel caught on Seliger can be easily distinguished from one caught in Stary Ostrog.
The fish behaves quite passively, so you can use almost any tackle to catch it. The most important thing is that the fishing line can withstand the weight of a large specimen, and that the hooks fit into its mouth. As for bait, in most cases fish meat or live bait is used. However, the largest individuals, as a rule, are caught by various imitators that can be purchased locally.
It is also best to acquire bait in advance, which will allow you to attract individuals from all over the area to your fishing spot. Finding eel nests on a lake can be incredibly difficult, so most fishermen simply row a boat further from shore, throw in a few pellets of pheromone-laced food, and wait for a bite.
