The American Eel has long been a staple of "Liveliners" in search of cold water striped bass...

by Tom Vassallo

As the fury of the Fall Run along the Jersey beaches subsides, many will hang up their rods and reels, content with the battles won on the beach sands and boat decks. Boat owners will begin the hauling of their vessels back to dry dock and winterize them in preparation of the spring striper season. However, some of the hardy anglers who just never get enough of the thrill of battling a nice striper will leave those boats in a bit longer to take advantage of some of the stragglers and maturing resident bass who will leave or enter the inlets and channels for several more weeks.

Many of these anglers will leave the swimmers and poppers at the dock and head to the deep holes with a cooler or livewell stocked with eels. The American Eel has long been a staple of liveliners in search of cold water striped bass. The time to fish them is when the bay temperatures drop to the point where the bass will become more lethargic and sometimes rarely move from the bottom. They will be content to sit behind a lump or some structure, waiting for whatever goodies the tide or current serves up. Now is the time to get any eels you may be able to find and get after these lazy linesiders.

The American Eel population has been in decline since the 1970's saw an incredible surge in the juvenile "elver" market. The Asian market was paying exorbitant amounts of money for the tiny eels, a delicacy to many. Overfishing and crime contributed to a halt to commercial fishing for elvers in nearly every Northeastern state except maybe Maine. Eels are quite unique. They spend much of their life in freshwater, returning to the sea to spawn. The United States has considered making them an endangered species, due to the loss of habitat caused by dams. Efforts are being made to create ladders for eels similar to the ones created for salmon. For now, eels are still usually available in the fall at most New Jersey Bait & Tackle dealers.

The American Eel population has been declining for years. However, these eels consistently catch large, cold water striped bass.

It is no secret that LARGE striped bass like live eels. Nearly half of the top ten largest striped bass taken with rod and reel have been landed on live or rigged eels. Greg Myerson landed his 81.8 lb. IGFA world record striper on a live eel and when he is in search of monster bass, that is his bait of choice. Peter Vican, who holds the Rhode Island state record for the largest striper, landed his 77-pound, 4-ounce fish on a live eel fished off Block Island at 3:30 a.m. Both Myerson and Vican will fish live eels mainly at night for a very good reason...eels are basically nocturnal (night ) feeders which become more active in the evenings.

Like many Jersey anglers, I put in a lot of time in my early years chasing bass on the beach, catching a lot of bluefish and not a lot of bass. I never was much of a surf guy...but I enjoyed my time on the beach. However, many years later a friend invited me for a late fall, midnight fishing trip in Barnegat Bay. The live well was filled with american eels and the target of our trip was striped bass. We left the dock at 11:30 pm and the wind was light, but the temperature was cold...cold enough for thermals and insulated coveralls. We found our intended spot in a cut west of Myers Hole and dropped the eels to the bottom. The outgoing tide was perfect and drifted the boat right into the deep corner hole just as we had intended. Within minutes, we were hooked up and were landing 20-25 pound class bass. It was the easiest bass fishing I had ever encountered.

Use a "fish finder" rig when live lining eels for fall stripers. I prefer to hook the eels through the lips.

Under some conditions, it is preferable to hook the eel under its dorsal fin. Experiment to determine which hookling location works best for you.

When fishing with eels under those conditions, it is imperative to have a medium heavy rod, but you really need one with a sensitive tip. The bass will barely move and simply inhale the bait. It is a little difficult to adjust to if you are used to bashing bass on poppers and swimmers. As Greg Myerson explained, “There are always big fish around, a lot of people don’t realize it because they’re tricky,” he says. “Because [the biggest stripers] have such huge mouths, often the take is subtle. They inhale your bait and spit it out before you realize it.”

Therefore, it is important to keep your weight as light as possible. When live lining eels, use a typical fishfinder rig. Many anglers use long leaders...up to 5-6 feet. I believe in colder water, it is best to keep your leader fairly short...no longer than 30". That may explain why many anglers never feel the hit when fishing eels. It is VERY soft...surprisingly so for such a large predator! Use a sinker slider when using larger bank sinkers, but in slower currents, a simple egg weight should keep smaller eels on the bottom and allow for a better feel when the bass inhales the eel. I personally prefer the short leader in colder water and hooking the eel through the lips. This allows you to feel the inhalation of the eel immediately. Some others prefer to hook the eel back towards the dorsal fin. You may wish to experiment with your hook placement when you try this technique.

World Record Holder Greg Myerson has developed a "rattling" sinker that he markets under his World Record Striper Company label that he uses when live lining eels. However, S&S Bucktails here in New Jersey markets a rattling bucktail that might be a great bait to try in combination with a small eel. If you can stand the cold and you really want to experience some great striped bass fishing, you need to try an evening trip using live eels. This technique may be for us "lazier" anglers...but I found it to be one of the best techniques out there for striped bass. Oh...and there are hardly any other boats to compete with out there at night...now get out there and FISH!