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?