Eel Bagging

[Shadow Walker]

I was wigging in on two old boys in the pub, who were going on about eel bagging. From what i could make out, its a way of catching eels using a sand bag.

Can anyone shed more light on this and tell me whether they have tried it and if it works.

Jason

 

[Scally]

better on a full moon or around this time stuff some entrails or meat substance in a load of grasses and hay fill the bag with this and a few rocks to take to the bottom and throw in said stream / river with a good anchor ( tie the top ) leave over night the next day pull out sharpish and hopefully a old eel will have eaten into the sack and be curled up for the day?

also eel love hideing under cracks and rocks on shoreline at low tide turn over a few good rocks with a big stick and hope you have luck.

 

[shadow57]

Heard that too about the sand bag

When I was a wee boy and could not afford fishing hooks we would use a lengths of knitting wool to catch them.

Tie on a worm or bit of bacon and chuck it in the deepest darkest pool you could find.

Unbelievably the little things get their teeth all trapped in the wool.

The eels sense of smell is good. I once was fishing for Sea Trout in the dark and had loaned my waders to my lady friend. I stood in my bare feet in the water.
After a while I shone my torch down at my feet to see if any thing was moving around. There was eels around my tootsies.

Next day.... the river baliff told me that used to be a way of catching them in the dark. They can smell your feet miles away

I cannot stand eels....yuk If you catch one...to stop it wriggling about ...chuck it on a piece of news paper...they seem to get stuck b

 

[Longstrider]

I have caught eels in an old hessian potato sack in a very similar way. I was taught to tie 2 strings to the sack, one nice and firm around a short length of old pipe (gutter down-pipe) at the entrance making it stay open, and the other in a loose noose just behind the pipe. Baited with chicken guts or rabbit guts, the sack is thrown into the water making sure not to snag or tighten the noose line and left overnight. In the morning, a sharp tug on the noose line seals the sack preventing any escapees, which you then pull to the bank.
After I explained about this to a friend who lives on the coast in Cornwall he tried it in the local harbour and could hardly lift the sack next morning. Thinking it was probably full of small crabs or suchlike he opened it up and discovered he had caught about 4 feet of conger eel!

Catching eels on worms threaded onto rough woollen thread requires quite a delicate touch when it comes to "reeling in", but it can be done. As far as I know it's legal to do this in fresh water all year round. The law regarding the "Closed Season" for freshwater angling does not apply to this method (Known as Eel Babbing) as you are not actually using a hook. (Hooks used to be known as "angles".. Hence the term "Angling")

 

[WNZer]

In New Zealand, there is a place I used to catch them, they make burrows into the clay, so you stick your hand in and tickle the tail (really hope you get the tail not the mouth ) then they will swim out the other end and you grab them and put them in a sack, then give the sack a good hiding with a cricket bat, then feed on to a spit and cook over a smokey fire... mmmm delish!

 

[den]

There is no need to leave the bags in place all night when you have a entrance built into your bag.

Pulling every hour will be a lot more productive as a many an eels will munch and get on before you pull them.
A lad i know who uses this method regularly from his barge. will five fold his catch when pulled at regular intervals through the night.


Den

 

[heeby]

In New Zealand, there is a place I used to catch them, they make burrows into the clay, so you stick your hand in and tickle the tail (really hope you get the tail not the mouth ) then they will swim out the other end and you grab them and put them in a sack, then give the sack a good hiding with a cricket bat, then feed on to a spit and cook over a smokey fire... mmmm delish!

ive seen photos of eels from your neck of the woods and theyre a lot bigger than the uk i wouldnt fancy sticking my hand in a hole with one of them

 

[stuart f]

If you are fishing with rod and line and end up with an eel on the hook, and it is squirming and wrapping around the line, tying itself in knots,and assuming that you don't want it for supper, the best way to deal with it is(thats if you don't happen to have a news paper handy)to put eel on the ground,find the head and start to stroke the eel from the head down along its back using you thumb and first finger, the eel will begin to relax and start to unwind itself,if you keep stroking it will go dead straight where upon you can lift it up and take the hook out without a fight. Yes you will have very slimey fingers but your rig won't need to be bucketed and mr eel can go back safe.

I have seen many an eel left on the bank minus its head because people can get there hooks out of them,not a pretty sight and nine times out of ten people still have to through there rigs away because it is in knots. Using the above method will guarantee that rig and eel come to no harm .

 

[heeby]

iirc i read an article in a angling magazine and it advises not to leave the eel in this position to long or it could die