Fishing for Eels in Connecticut

Fishing for eels in Connecticut is done at night, as they are nocturnal feeders. They frequent virtually every river and stream in the state, and many lakes that these waterways dump into. Usually, I do my eel fishing in the local river and empties into another river south of my location. It is shallow enough in the hot summer months to wade safely into, and my friends and I often don an old pair of sneakers and go right in to fish. The water is seldom even waist high in most places.

Eels hunt with an acute sense of smell, and can be taken on a variety of baits, but all my friends and I use are simple night crawlers. We will spend a few hours before dark fishing for other species, but as twilight approaches, we will build a fire on the riverbank and wait for eel action. Flashlights come in handy, as do the type of lights that can be worn on your head like a miner's lamp, allowing you to keep your hands free. Using spinning rods with a number four snelled hook and at least a pair of split shots attached about eighteen inches up the line, we will put a night crawler on and cast out into the water for eels. The split shots send the line to the bottom and keep it in place in the slow moving currents, perfectly placed for the eels to find.

Once it is dark, the eels come out in force. Catfish as well are feeding, but the difference in their taking the bait is pronounced. The catfish will swallow it up quickly, but the eel's bite will be more of a "thump, thump". Two or three times you will feel the bait getting hit, and when you set the hook and have an eel on, there will be no doubt as to what you have gotten yourself into. I can best describe the initial stages of playing an eel as equivalent to trying to pull in a five gallon bucket through the water. The eel strains and thrashes for a number of seconds before you start to make any headway against it. Finally you will begin reeling the eel in, as he causes enough commotion in the water for five normal fish. When you get him to shore, hope that you have remembered to bring an old towel or a burlap bag, because that is the best way to grasp the eel. Many fisherman have told me to rub the eel in the sand, but that will harm the eel's slimy coat and is not acceptable to me, as I want to return the eel to the water. A team effort is needed to make things easier for yourself and the eel. Have someone else help you to hold the eel with the aid of the towel or burlap, and unhook them. Most of the time the hook is able to be removed from the eel's mouth; if it cannot be safely removed without harming the eel I will cut the line and return the eel to the water. I do not know many fishermen who enjoy trying to get the hook out of an eel's mouth, but I have never been bitten.

NOTE: This above has been excerpted from a longer article written by Lindell on the Associated Content website.