WTS surprise tenant

All about trout fishing in the great Garden State!
Madeinuk
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Re: WTS surprise tenant

Post by Madeinuk » Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:52 am

I wholeheartedly agree that eels are a prime eating fish.

They are great in stews, fried and grilled.

They really come into there own when smoked - they have a lot of oil plus solid white flesh around easy bones. The oils and the skin helps to keep the meat really moist - I'll eat smoked eel over smoked salmon every day of the week.

Their skin is tough as well - I saw shed and out building doors hinged with eel skin strips as a boy and it used be used in wheat flails back when they were in common use.

All eels need is a good night of rain and they can pretty well slither across anything to get to the smallest, most seemingly landlocked pockets of water. The are fast to spin up and tangle themselves in the line that caught them and their slime makes the hard to handle - we used to grab them using wads of old newspapers to soak up the slime. They also have a nasty bite so be careful.

One of their more alarming traits is wriggling in the bucket long after their heads have removed it used to scare my girl cousins no end LOL.

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46er
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Re: WTS surprise tenant

Post by 46er » Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:08 am

Used to catch them as a kid from Newark Bay, they put up a good tussle,; an adventure unhooking them as they tend to ball up in a slimey mess. Gave them to some Italian neighbors that pickled them. I use the little ones for Striper bait in the fall :mrgreen:
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Cornbread
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Re: WTS surprise tenant

Post by Cornbread » Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:27 pm

So I thought of this thread when I was out in the Big Flat Brook today and swear I saw a black colored eel slither away as I stepped upstream. Seems pretty far to go up the Delaware and then into the Flat Brook but I guess its possible? I was in the middle of the Flatbrook WMA and a little freaked out since I pretty much had to wade everywhere cause of the heavy brush.

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Rusty Spinner
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Re: WTS surprise tenant

Post by Rusty Spinner » Tue Oct 02, 2018 4:23 pm

Cornbread wrote:
Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:27 pm
So I thought of this thread when I was out in the Big Flat Brook today and swear I saw a black colored eel slither away as I stepped upstream. Seems pretty far to go up the Delaware and then into the Flat Brook but I guess its possible? I was in the middle of the Flatbrook WMA and a little freaked out since I pretty much had to wade everywhere cause of the heavy brush.
American eels live in freshwater and spawn in saltwater in the Sargasso Sea exclusively. They then head to freshwater streams around the world to live happily away until they next spawn. They can easily run up a river and into every tributary and by tribs, I mean small tribs to the Flatbrook and not just the Flatbrook itself. One of the largest eels I have ever seen was in West Portal Creek, a Musky trib that has both wild browns and native brookies. The stream was only 4' wide where that eel which was well over 3 feet in length swam between my legs one summer while I was surveying the stream for a river restoration project we did long ago now.
"A sinking fly is closer to Hell" - Unknown

garden hackle
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Re: WTS surprise tenant

Post by garden hackle » Tue Oct 02, 2018 9:46 pm

Rusty Spinner wrote:
Tue Oct 02, 2018 4:23 pm
Cornbread wrote:
Sat Sep 29, 2018 11:27 pm
So I thought of this thread when I was out in the Big Flat Brook today and swear I saw a black colored eel slither away as I stepped upstream. Seems pretty far to go up the Delaware and then into the Flat Brook but I guess its possible? I was in the middle of the Flatbrook WMA and a little freaked out since I pretty much had to wade everywhere cause of the heavy brush.
American eels live in freshwater and spawn in saltwater in the Sargasso Sea exclusively. They then head to freshwater streams around the world to live happily away until they next spawn. They can easily run up a river and into every tributary and by tribs, I mean small tribs to the Flatbrook and not just the Flatbrook itself. One of the largest eels I have ever seen was in West Portal Creek, a Musky trib that has both wild browns and native brookies. The stream was only 4' wide where that eel which was well over 3 feet in length swam between my legs one summer while I was surveying the stream for a river restoration project we did long ago now.
You forgot the first rule of fishing, what happens on the creek stays on the creek. The eel denies any allegations of spawning between your legs..... :D OK, i took a little poetic license on where they spawn.

Amazing journey an eel will take to get a little tail....ok, a lot of tail or it’s all tail. Who among us has not gone the extra mile for the same.
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njcatchrelease
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Re: WTS surprise tenant

Post by njcatchrelease » Wed Oct 03, 2018 11:28 am

cappy wrote:
Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:28 am
Eel is one of my favorite fish to eat. Cut into 4" sections, split down the length of the belly, add a little kosher salt and grill it slow until the skin gets crispy and the flesh tender. Skin is the best part, but it MUST be crispy all the way through. Serve with a classic Italian tomato salad and rice.
Crap, now I'm hungry!!!
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Drossi
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Re: WTS surprise tenant

Post by Drossi » Wed Oct 03, 2018 2:54 pm

While wading the BFB I had a pair of them try to get busy while using my legs as props. Thank goodness I was young cause it just about tested my cardiovascular system to the limit. I don't like eels!
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