Successful eel fishing john sidley

Successful eel fishing john sidley The look for large-eel waters Finding a large-eel water in which there’s a hazard of fish of four lb upwards is greater difficult, and seeking out a water with document-breaking poten-tial is a digital impossibility – until of path you realize they’re in there.

The cause is they rarely display themselves, for eels are very touchy to mild. They also are extraordinarily touchy to vibrations from the bankside and there’s no question that they could discover those from a incredible distance.

If you’ve got got severe intentions of catching a large eel you have to have a contant consciousness of those elements.

In all of the hundreds – if now no longer thousands – of hours I even have spent fish-watching, there are only some events after I had been capin a position to look at eels of their herbal habitat. So going eel-recognizing withinside the past due near season because the carp or tench angler does is simply now no longer on: you may now no longer see any!

By continually I imply 1/2 of a dozen fish of 5lb-plus in a season, however even or 3 such fish ought to be an excellent indicator of ex-

Specimen size

Frank Guttfield considers a four or 5lb eel to be of specimen size. But a brand new rod-stuck eel document of lllb 2oz changed into installed in mid-1978. The writer feels 20 lb eels are probable.

Tackle, Bait, Techniques Rod 10 -1 1 toes stepped-up carp-kind rod in hole glass, with a check of lf-2£lb.

Bait Successful eel fishing john sidley

Small deadbaits – bleak, rudd, gudgeon – lobworms, foot of freshwater mussel, all threaded directly to hook.

Groundbait

Nevertheless, catching numerous medium-sized eels does now no longer assure a specimen. The finest problem in pinning-down a large-eel water is that a excessive percent of actually large specimens are taken absolutely abruptly from waters with out a large-eel history.

The new document eel comes into this category. Why are large eels stuck so rarely

First, large eels feed once in a while and also you want a incredible deal of time. Second, they’re extraordinarily effective and ruthless fish whilst hooked, so whilst he hooks one with the aid of using coincidence the green angler does now no longer stand a hazard.

While there’s no doubt that rivers deliver the most important head of eels, it in all fairness nicely identified that the most important eels are barren or landlocked ladies in stillwaters.

Rivers do, of path, preserve massive eels and a lot of them, along with the Avon, Severn, Great Ouse and Stour, have produc-ed the extraordinary six or seven-pounder over the years, however statistically your possibilities of singling out such fish in rivers are very low indeed – they’re sincerely outnumbered with the aid of using the hordes of smaller eels.

Make for the lakes Successful eel fishing john sidley

So as soon as you’ve got got practised at the rivers or canals (maximum canals are quite slow) make for the lakes and pits. It does now no longer ought to be a large pit; numerous large-eel waters that I understand of include among one and 5 acres.

Useful recommendations to search for whilst choosing your water are the near proximity of canals, sluices, feeder streams and ditches, and rivers that flood regularly.

The presence of an excellent head of small or maybe stunted fish is some other beneficial indicator.

Assuming you’ve got got discovered your large-eel water, the subsequent critical assignment is to pin down the territory and hotspots in that precise water.

The elements of mild and bankside disturbance predetermine to a huge diploma the possibly areas. Eels combat shy of mild and bankside motion or disturbance, and in my revel in they do maximum in their severe feeding withinside the deeper, if now no longer the inner most water.

In the depths it’ll be darker and quieter, and if it’s miles snaggy a lot the better. Underwater snags, along with bushes or cables, assist to present the monster eel a sense of security.

In a few respects you may relate your quest to that of a conger fisher-man – eels conceal on the lowest withinside the identical manner as massive conger hug the wrecks withinside the depths.

Eels are scavengers in addition to predators, however I understand of few eel experts who’ve implemented this expertise to their sensible advan-tage and stuck large eels in which useless and rotting fish have drifted into the windward margins of a lake.

John Sidley, the Birmingham eel king, is the handiest exception I understand of, however then he places in an outstanding range of hours in step with season.

Most of my large-eel revel in changed into won on my antique domestic waters in Bedfordshire brick pits, synthetic lakes and small ponds.

Productive thundery nights

In my revel in, warm, clammy, thundering nights are the maximum pro- ductive. Avoid clean and moonlit nights: they’re uncomfortable and bloodless to fish in and the eels do now no longer like them either.

If you may, pick out a night time with masses of cloud-cover – in my view the darker eel2 the Successful eel fishing john sidley