Fresh water Eels

[lunkertaker]

Just read a few posting here regarding catching these guys while cat fishing.

I have cat fished Assunpink and Farrington and not caught them but have read and heard about them here in NJ.

Questions:

1. What size range is typical, are they like the large ocean ones?

2. Are there areas lakes/ponds/rivers where they are more abundant?

3. Are they edible? We wont eat them...just wondering?

[vanstaalin]

Originally Posted by lunkertaker

Just read a few posting here regarding catching these guys while cat fishing.

I have cat fished Assunpink and Farrington and not caught them but have read and heard about them here in NJ.

Questions:

1. What size range is typical, are they like the large ocean ones?

2. Are there areas lakes/ponds/rivers where they are more abundant?

3. Are they edible? We wont eat them...just wondering?

1. from my experience 12'' to 24'' are average but caught plenty in the 36'' range. I know they get bigger and they can fight hard. best bet is to cut your line because you really don't want to handle them...the slime won't come out of your cloths or off your boat.

2.If you want eels go to turkey swamp park...fish to the left of the rental boats with a few night crawlers under a bobber.I usually fish a few rods. I have caught them in the delaware river,manasquan res, Metedeconk River is also loaded with eels. I think every small slow moving river probably has a good eel population.

3. I heard they are very good but I have yet to try one.

[jmurr711]

bottom fish the delaware at night frm Trenton south you'll get plenty lots of dem philly water snakes by penns landing

[surfrod]

back in the day (actually night) gigging them, would carry a burlap bag, stab big ones "sleeping" in the shallows of rapids on the Delaware and stuff them right into the bag.

would dump the bag into a sand pit and, with gloves, use the sand to wipe off all slime, then smoke them.

only did it with friends a couple of times but they tasted very good, like slim jims, when done that way.

[acabtp]

Originally Posted by surfrod

would dump the bag into a sand pit and, with gloves, use the sand to wipe off all slime, then smoke them.

only did it with friends a couple of times but they tasted very good, like slim jims, when done that way.

smoking fish is like frying it... anything tastes good!

[Chris_JC]

As far as I know these eels (american eels) we catch in freshwater are the same as the ones caught in saltwater. They migrate from fresh to spawn in the saltwater of the Saragasso sea which is actually out in the Atlantic. I am unclear how the eels get to completely land locked places like Round Valley?

[HerringKing]

Believe it or not, I've caught my biggest walleye on a live eel. We fish from dusk till about midnight in the philly area and load a cooler full. We go for 24 to 36 inches but smaller ones work too. If you go too small, bigger eels eat them. At midnight, trailer the boat and head to the Trenton area. Boat is back in the water around 3am with eels on baitrunners. Make sure you use baitrunners because if you doze off, your rods will be gone when you wake up. About an hour before sunrise, you will hear your drags screaming. It a very tiring process but worth it. We catch walleyes, cats, bowfin, stripers and even got a smallie once.

[lunkertaker]

Cool

not sure if I want to deal with these guys but was wondering about them, but ya never know what may be on the other end of the line till it gets to the BOAT

[Moz]

Originally Posted by Chris_JC

I am unclear how the eels get to completely land locked places like Round Valley?

They were stocked there but that's a good question whether they were put there intentionally or someone did some renegade stocking.

Some big ones in there, the current State record was caught out of there and I think it was 2 guys last summer caught a record-breaker but weren't advised of it until others had seen the pictures of it before they cooked and ate it!

[lunkertaker]

Originally Posted by Moz

They were stocked there but that's a good question whether they were put there intentionally or someone did some renegade stocking.

Some big ones in there, the current State record was caught out of there and I think it was 2 guys last summer caught a record-breaker but weren't advised of it until others had seen the pictures of it before they cooked and ate it!

There is a state record for eels???? What is the official state record?

This is getting more interesting......