River eels
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- Stickleback
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Fri Nov 03 2023 17:04
River eels
Does anyone target eels on rivers or is it generally little bootlace's so people head for stillwaters?
I have loads of river around me and stillwaters but the stillwaters are all syndicates or clubs with waiting lists for night tickets.
I'm guessing bigger eels do use the rivers for travelling to and from stillwaters at times.
I really want to start on eels, love everything about, I'm just stuck on venues, I'm a none driver too.
Any info as yes go for it or don't bother would be greatly appreciated.
I have loads of river around me and stillwaters but the stillwaters are all syndicates or clubs with waiting lists for night tickets.
I'm guessing bigger eels do use the rivers for travelling to and from stillwaters at times.
I really want to start on eels, love everything about, I'm just stuck on venues, I'm a none driver too.
Any info as yes go for it or don't bother would be greatly appreciated.
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- Zander
- Posts: 8018
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- Location: broadland
Re: River eels
Be mega difficult to target bigger ones on rivers IMO mate
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- Roach
- Posts: 145
- Joined: Wed Dec 14 2011 06:00
Re: River eels
ever year I have a few trips on the Severn or avon in hope of a river 4lber. 3.11 my best. there are some good eels in our rivers but with small eels and lots of zander now my quest gets harder each year. seen pic of a guinue 5lb 5 oz from the river severn. Good luck. definitely worth a go.
- Sebas
- Jack Pike
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- Mike J
- Ferox Trout
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- Location: Wessex
Re: River eels
Adibob78 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 26 2023 10:21 -Does anyone target eels on rivers or is it generally little bootlace's so people head for stillwaters?
I have loads of river around me and stillwaters but the stillwaters are all syndicates or clubs with waiting lists for night tickets.
I'm guessing bigger eels do use the rivers for travelling to and from stillwaters at times.
I really want to start on eels, love everything about, I'm just stuck on venues, I'm a none driver too.
Any info as yes go for it or don't bother would be greatly appreciated.
First welcome abaord
Somewhere on here is an eel wizard, Neil ? I think, Eel crazy, he even fishes through the winter, he is the guy who could answer your question.
Ive worked a lot on rivers and was once present when a redundant weir pool was dammed off and pumped down prior to filling in. The guys in the ground work team were all looking forward to getting a lot of eels from the empty pool and even had some buckets ready to carry the harvest away. Pumping didn't go as fast as thought and the pool was left overnight with a few feet of water remaining. Next morning the pool was drained and just one eel was found.
I was there to relocate any swan mussels that were stranded but there were many hundreds so the buckets were of use after all (its an ill wind and all that).
.
'No Man Ever Fishes The Same River Twice, .... For It Is Not The Same River, .... And He Is Not The Same Man' Heraclitus of Ephesus
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- Roach
- Posts: 212
- Joined: Tue Jan 19 2021 19:05
Re: River eels
Some rivers have good numbers of 2 to 3 lb eels with the chance of a 4lb plus specimen, fish the nearest larger river and savour those warm summer evenings waiting for the line to pour off the spool, give it a go you really never know.
- Fentiger01
- Disco Dave
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- Location: Far side of the moon.
Re: River eels
A good mate of mine with a very respectable big fish list told me a story of a big winter Eel he lost at the net following an insane battle on a big river 5 or 6 years ago. He reckoned it would have been a double!
Eagles may soar, but Weasels don't get sucked into jet engines!
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- Perch
- Posts: 738
- Joined: Sat Nov 01 2014 17:14
Re: River eels
Hello Adi, if you want advice on catching eels then contact the NAC they're a good bunch. If I was you I'd concentrate on still waters using single hooks and a wire trace for starters. Don't wait for runs to develop,strike at the first indication.
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- Perch
- Posts: 602
- Joined: Wed Oct 30 2019 19:53
Re: River eels
To build on the original question - how do you determine if a water has eels beyond actually catching one? A lovely local pit sits in valley near a river so you'd think it may contain eels but in all thr years I've fished it ever had one or see anyone get one. 1
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- Stickleback
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Fri Nov 03 2023 17:04
Re: River eels
Thanks all for the replies, I've spoken to a couple of eel enthusiasts and they say its definitely worth a bash for them.
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- Roach
- Posts: 168
- Joined: Sun Jun 05 2022 22:07
Re: River eels
We used to get plagued by semi decent eels 3-5lbs on some parts of the middle Thames when I night fished it as a youth for chub and barbel. I remember the weir pool at Pangbourne was full of them. To the extent of making meat a pointless bait as all we caught was eels. I can even remember people who used to fish around Maidenhead bridge at night with rod and line to catch them commercially before the Eel regs made that illegal. They would set up with rods against the road barriers and black dustbins full of water to store the catch live.
These days I would think deliberately targeting them on a river is much less likely to be successful as others have said. Populations of specimen eels are rare unless they get into an environment where there is plentiful food and limited competition, hence most large ones being stillwater captures.
These days I would think deliberately targeting them on a river is much less likely to be successful as others have said. Populations of specimen eels are rare unless they get into an environment where there is plentiful food and limited competition, hence most large ones being stillwater captures.
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- Stickleback
- Posts: 32
- Joined: Thu Mar 28 2024 13:45
Re: River eels
Occasionally..venues come under the umbrella of a a"Prison Water"the eels some how introduced become trapped and grow to prodigious proportions. An interesting theory.
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- Stickleback
- Posts: 32
- Joined: Thu Mar 28 2024 13:45
Re: River eels
The river system's are a natural corridor for Anguilla to navigate to the open ocean on their final destination...the Sargasso sea.Barring any obstructions eels both large and small will make that hazardous trip.But as for targeting a specimen..you have to be in it to win it.A fantastic journeyman..worthy of any decerning anglers attention.Its why so few persue them.They are a species... most paradox .