Silver Eel/Anguila anguila
Average Size – 1lb
Silver eels are almost unmistakable with their snake-like body shape and slimy covering. Despite the feeling of smooth, sliminess the eels do have a series of very small scales arranged in small groups along its flanks. The fish’s long dorsal fin begins roughly a third of the way down its back and runs all the way along the to the point of the tail and then underneath the fish ending near the vent on the fish’s belly. The silver eel could sometimes be mistaken for a very small conger eel although they are not frequently encountered in the same areas or on similar baits. The silver eel has a much smaller head and eyes than a conger. A conger eel’s head also tends to be a lot pointer than that of a silver eel. The silver eel is not always silver, on many occasions its colour varies immensely from silver to dark green to almost dark blue, most often with a silver underside. Mostly a fresh water fish, the eel has to leave its home in rivers, canals and lakes to travel to the sea n order to spawn. They make an incredible journey many thousands of miles to the Sargasso Sea to spawn in extremely deep water.
Silver eels are most commonly encountered in the spring and summer months. They are most often caught in estuaries or from beaches close to sources of freshwater. In the estuary waters they feed well both day and night with night being the best time for bigger specimens. Keep your rigs simple, such as a running leger, as these fish will quickly tie any rig into a ball of knots as they writhe around in an attempt to escape your hook. By far the best bait for eels is peeler crab mounted onto a strong 1/0 hook. Ragworm is a good back up bait. Despite being regularly consumed, jellied, in the past the eel has seen a dramatic decline in its numbers over the past decade and any eel caught should be returned alive.
Silver eels are almost unmistakable with their snake-like body shape and slimy covering. Despite the feeling of smooth, sliminess the eels do have a series of very small scales arranged in small groups along its flanks. The fish’s long dorsal fin begins roughly a third of the way down its back and runs all the way along the to the point of the tail and then underneath the fish ending near the vent on the fish’s belly. The silver eel could sometimes be mistaken for a very small conger eel although they are not frequently encountered in the same areas or on similar baits. The silver eel has a much smaller head and eyes than a conger. A conger eel’s head also tends to be a lot pointer than that of a silver eel. The silver eel is not always silver, on many occasions its colour varies immensely from silver to dark green to almost dark blue, most often with a silver underside. Mostly a fresh water fish, the eel has to leave its home in rivers, canals and lakes to travel to the sea n order to spawn. They make an incredible journey many thousands of miles to the Sargasso Sea to spawn in extremely deep water.
Silver eels are most commonly encountered in the spring and summer months. They are most often caught in estuaries or from beaches close to sources of freshwater. In the estuary waters they feed well both day and night with night being the best time for bigger specimens. Keep your rigs simple, such as a running leger, as these fish will quickly tie any rig into a ball of knots as they writhe around in an attempt to escape your hook. By far the best bait for eels is peeler crab mounted onto a strong 1/0 hook. Ragworm is a good back up bait. Despite being regularly consumed, jellied, in the past the eel has seen a dramatic decline in its numbers over the past decade and any eel caught should be returned alive.
