Eel Hunting..

[mattharvey]

Congers in the uk tend to be holed up(durring the day)
prob good sport spearing them but from the only one i've caught and eaten not worth the effort.......mutch more fun feeding them small crabs etc.

Used a five prong head ,seemed quite effective.

[ivan]

hi

Are these eels you guys spear good eating

cheers

[Murat]

Hey Ivan,

The murray eels are extremely tasty here. Delicous thick white flesh

BTW today i shoot one murray eel from its head but i couldn't take it. It was sitting in front of the rock, i shoot it the spear went through the head and hit the rock. The flopper did not open. It tear off the spear easily and lost in the cave.


Pekka,

You would like to add small wing to the front of your spear if you don't want to have same problem.

[ivan]

hi

Wonder if our eels we get on the reef here called Moray eels are related to your Murray eels.

I would never shoot one their teeth are too big

cheers

[BOOTSPEARO]

Well I was diving about a month ago and I shot a large peacock grouper(Roi) under a ledge and the spear got stuck in the coral. I tried pulling it out from the back twice on seperate dives but it didnt work so I decided I was going to grab near the tip under the little ledge and pull it free well right when I went to grab the shaft a Morray eel about 4 or 5 feet long bit me in my middle finger doing some good damage as you can tell from the photo. But the worst part was that my spear was still stuck and I had to leave my Rob Allen 110 out there and my float ( I didnt think to just unclip my line from the spear) well needless to say some one needed the gear more than I did. All I can say is be careful with those buggas they can do alot more damage than they did to me I was lucky. Bootspearo



Editted picture for size - be kind to our low bandwith users

[Pekka]

Ouch!! That's Gotta hurt..
Huh.. I am planning on hunting eels at night.. with a help of u/w lamp... so I hope to catch them while they are roaming the shallow water in search of some crabs.. my spear has two floppers so I think that is enough to keep the eel on it..
I have some good recipies for eel and I want to try them out.. as soon as I get my flashlight...

Pekka

[Murat]

Yeah shooting murray eels are bit risky. I never want my hands in same cave with murrays. Golden rule is kill it immediately with knife without touching it.

Hey pekka if you are loking for best flashlight around give omer moonlight elite a try. You will not be disappoint.

[ivan]

hi

Yeah with injuries like that I think i will stick to fish. Hope you recover well mate.

cheers

[Murat]

To be honest this pic. scared me too

[Pekka]

I have Sunlight something... I can't remember but it seems to be lost somewhere.. so I might have to find a new one.. thanks for the advice.
Pekka

[ruppst]

I use a Hawaiian sling with a 4 prong head. Head shots a must.
My sling is special too, from http://www.hawaiiansling.net
eel is excelent eating

[Stevie T]

Hi Pekka,

I found the info below on a fishing site, thought it maybe of interest to you: -

How Reef Conger Live
Reef conger have different habits from that of wreck fish. Reef conger do not sit tight in their holes and pick off food as it passes by. They are most active towards dusk and dawn, tending to roam across quite wide areas hoping to surprise both live fish, but also picking
up fresh fatalities, too.

This walkabout tendency seems to be triggered by two things. Firstly, that the tide is approaching slack water with little water movement evident. The eels work over the ground until the tide starts to pick up. A this occurs they head back towards a permanent hole within which they can hide their full body length, though this is surprisingly rarer than written work would have us believe.

Many reef dwelling eels, especially the 20lb plus fish with greater body girth and length, have difficulty finding holes large enough in the reef structure. They are content to lay full length along the deeper cracks and fissures in the rock strata. This method of dormancy whilst tidal activity is at it's greatest is also used by eels living over relatively smooth coral structured reefs like those along the Bristol Channel.

Alternatively, they may embed themselves around the base of bigger rocks, or sink into the camouflage of dense weed beds. There is some substance in saying that some of the larger eels tend to be free swimming as opposed to holed up and are frequently caught from the
outer edges of the reef, whereas the inner reef area tends to hold a quantity of the smaller sub 20lbers.

Periods of peak tidal flow see the eels go to ground, and only if the bait drops right on their noses will they be induced to feed.

Light entering through the water is critical to success. In water under 50ft, days with an overcast sky are needed to maximize catches. Bright sun and clear skies in calm settled seas reduce your chances of success beyond acceptable levels. If you must fish such spells of
weather, then be fishing by dawn, or stay through the dusk, safety permitting, when the suns rays are shallow and reflected off the surface of the water and do not penetrate to any great degree.

As a sea settles after a storm when the sea colour is brown and coloured, or grey as happens over a large reef area, then this is when the eels will capitalize and feed well. Such weather and sea state combinations produce the best of all reef conger fishing, both in
numbers and in size.

The neap tides will always give the best fishing, but not necessarily the best fish. The slower moving tide on the neaps prolongs the time for the eels to feed, whereas the spring tides and faster flowing water have a much shorter slack water period which reduces feeding
time. The biggest conger though, do show up on the spring tides, possibly due to their extra bulk making them less affected by the tide which allows them to feed without the competition from the smaller fish.

[Pekka]

Thanks Stevie T

Tonight I am going for hunting all night.. I mean all night. Starting from midnight into 6:00.. so I should come back with couple of good sized eels and some crabs and well food for the whole bunch of friends that I agreed to feed if they just cook all the things I bring.. because I am headed to bed after the dive anyhow!

I am diving at Budleigh Salterton beach, why? Well I find it nice and good hunting at day time must mean moderate hunting at night time...... and the busses don't run here in UK at night.. so I gotta take the last buss to Budleigh and then the first one back in the morning Zzz
I have my Sun light 4.. not too bright but good enough for some hunting.
I'll let you know how it went later this week..
Safe diving to you all!
Pekka

[Stevie T]

Pekka,

Good luck for your trip tonight.

By the way, if you do manage to shoot a Conger or two, how do you propose getting them back on the bus? Baring in mind that even small Eels of 10-20lb are about 5ft long?????

Good luck mate, and stay safe out there, the Brittish Coast at night is an unforgiving place sometimes, i know i go out fishing at night every week..............

Remember, the Ocean is the Master not the diver.

[Murat]

Well boys... i don't want to be rude but i hope you don't shoot fishes that sleeping motionless at the bottom in the night.