Jump to content

Ever see an eel caught by an ice fisherman?


CWitek

Recommended Posts

The other ice fishing threads got me thinking...

 

I always understood that eels go into the mud and go dormant in the winter, and when I was young and the tidal creeks froze, sometimes we'd go out with winter spears and spear eels through the ice.

 

However, once I was ice fishing on a small impoundment in Connecticut (Mianus Pond, just above the dam on Route 1 on the Cos Cob/Riverside border) and the nephew of one of the guys I was fishing with fair-hooked a big eel on one of his tip-ups (golden shiner for bait). I didn't think eels were active in deep-winter (and that was a cold year--12-14 inches of good black ice even in that area), and never heard of anyone catching one like that before or since. Have any of you heard of legitimately hooking (rather than spearing) eels through the ice?

 

(In truth, you should have been there. The kid who caught the eel was about 10 years old. He didn't know what to do with the fish--it was too big to go into a pail with the perch--so he draped it around its neck, where it immediately froze into a horse-collar shape--like I said, it was deep-winter. He proudly paraded around the ice wearing his eel-scarf for the rest of the day, to his great delight disgusting all of the kids ice skating in the area, along with their yuppie "Oh, that's horrible" parents.)

"I have always believed that outdoor writers who come out against fish and wildlife conservation are in the wrong business. To me, it makes as much sense golf writers coming out against grass.."  --  Ted Williams

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Diogenes, the closest I have seen to an eel coming through the ice is when I went to Lake Beseck a few years ago. Once I got on the ice there was a guy with a fat long eel swiming around on the ice. The guy told me he caught it on a tip up. Did'nt see it come through the hole but it was alive.

 

Have seen 2 bull heads jigged up as well thats pretty rare to see them hit the ice.

 

JohnS

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Diogenes,

 

About 10 or so years ago I was ice fishing with some friends on the lake I basically grew up on in north western NJ. There is a good sized flat with about 4-5 feet of water that drops off to 15 or so feet. We always set our tip ups along the weedline that grew along that dropoff. Lots and lots of huge pickeral were taken off that edge. One exceptional day, I mean we had bunches of gators, a couple real nice bass, crappie jigging was as good as it gets, and a bunch of dropped jaws when we got a BIG eel on a shiner baited tip up on a bright sunny day up on the flat in no more than 4 feet of water. Many, many days on the ice and that's the only eel I've ever seen caught on a tip up.

Is it too much to ask to just breathe, be able to walk and go fishing?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks, guys.

 

I didn't think I saw the only one ever taken, but I knew it was pretty rare.

 

 

crash--

 

Those tips are good advice, and it's great that you thought to get them out there. Ice fishing can be a blast, but people should never forget how unforgiving cold water can be.

"I have always believed that outdoor writers who come out against fish and wildlife conservation are in the wrong business. To me, it makes as much sense golf writers coming out against grass.."  --  Ted Williams

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to register here in order to participate.

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×
×
  • Create New...