BIG Snakes

[Slipknot]

I've never found eels in a belly either and wondered why. Maybe they digest faster?

Tony, try starving them down to size if you have time. But keep them in a black container if you want them black.

[cheferson]

Ive found eels completely digested and also freshly killed , when cleaning bass a number of times. Probally so effective because eels and bass both start off their lives in the same areas(rivers, estuaries), its like comfort food to them.

[BigBo]

I don't think they start life in the same areas Chef. Aren't these eels from the Sargasso(sp?) Sea?

[Clogston29]

I've always felt that eels worked so well because (a) they are a live and natural food (reguardless of whether they are typically available to a striper at a given location and time of year) and (b) because they are very easy for stripers to catch and swallow (long and narrow with no spines or defense mechanism). Similar to why arkansas shiners are effective on largemouth bass even when they are not native to a given lake.

I can't see a bass passing up a live herring just because there are not many herring around and the bass are primarily feeding on something else. They are oppurtunists and eels represent an opportunity that is much harder to pass up than a plastic or wooden plug.

[Krispy]

Goose, like slipknot said, keep em in a livewell a few weeks and they will slim down quickly. I keep several dozen in my tanks, and found I need to use the medium size ones within the first week, otherwise they get small.

You could cut off a few inches too. I know they'd cast alot better

[cheferson]

Originally Posted by BigBo

I don't think they start life in the same areas Chef. Aren't these eels from the Sargasso(sp?) Sea?

SHortly after they hatch in the saragasso they drift into rivers and estuaries where bass spend there 1st few years.

[Goose]

L yeah Krisp, the best move I did this past off season improve my tank set-up. Its nice have choices to skin, throw big/slim or cut...especialy with eel & gas prices. My die-off ratio has been wicked low compared to the years past.
This heav is nice too.

[Pt.JudeJoe]

At the risk of making a shameless plug here...oh and a bad pun too....the Point Jude Wobbleheads are good for rigging a dead eel (I know of one 43 lb er taken on this rig this year) . Zach Harvey did an article on this in the Sept,1 issue of the Fisherman magazine.Also the PJ eel bob is a great way to re-use dead eels and have them ready to go from the frozen brine mix. With the lead head weight and ss hook they are solid and cast where you want them to go.

[spence]

I love the wobblehead with black rubber curly tail

-spence