Page 1 of 2
WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 9:01 am
by Razorbacker
I live right next to Lomerson Brook, or known locally as Herzog Brook, a tributary to the Lamington River. It flows under Black River Rd, then dumps into the river maybe 50 yards down. There is a nice pool right under the bridge that I always thought should hold some wild browns but have never seen any there. Have caught them upstream. Anyways... I walk the dog down there every night and the past few nights as I shine a light into the pool from the bridge above, I have seen an eel that is close to 18" cruising around the pool. Never would thought they would make it upstream that far. Kind of freaked me out... all I can think about with eels is Flotsam and Jetsam
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:37 am
by martalus
I remember one evening as a kid throwing a worm under a bridge on another nearby Lamington Trib that holds wild browns and hooking up with what looked to be a 3 foot eel. The thing was whipping around like a snake-I got so freaked out that I cut the line and walked away. Are there any land locked eels or do they all go to the Sargasso sea to spawn? I have no idea how they would make it above several blockages/dams up into upper Hunterdon/Sommerset county.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 5:32 pm
by Razorbacker
Sargasso is the place as far as I know. I guess there is always a chance somebody dumped their leftover striper bait into the Lam on their way home from the shore...
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:54 pm
by Rusty Spinner
American eels can slither out of water and over dams very easily which is why we see them well upstream of even the largest of dams in rivers connected to the ocean. We had them spilling (more like slithering) out of the bucket up in Hampton on the Musky many years ago before either Finesville Mill or Hughesville Mill dam were removed. They got over both of those, the huge Warren Glen Mill dam, the large dam in Bloomsbury, the Asbury dam and then several more miles upstream to where we encountered them. That's not at all unusual. And they will wind up in the smallest of tribs as well once they are in the main rivers. Everything has its place in the ecosystem, even our native American eels.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 8:25 am
by Razorbacker
interesting. Good info! Suddenly, my desire for wet wading just decreased exponentially... they weird me out man
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:49 am
by martalus
Did you ever see that show where they show people who make a living off the land. There is one guy who traps eels for a living in Hancock New York on the Big D. I only have fished up that way for trout a handful of times and I did see eels or lampreys teach time.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:26 am
by Pete
Rusty Spinner wrote: ↑Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:54 pm
American eels can slither out of water and over dams very easily which is why we see them well upstream of even the largest of dams in rivers connected to the ocean. We had them spilling (more like slithering) out of the bucket up in Hampton on the Musky many years ago before either Finesville Mill or Hughesville Mill dam were removed. They got over both of those, the huge Warren Glen Mill dam, the large dam in Bloomsbury, the Asbury dam and then several more miles upstream to where we encountered them. That's not at all unusual. And they will wind up in the smallest of tribs as well once they are in the main rivers. Everything has its place in the ecosystem, even our native American eels.
When I was a kid, I once caught an eel in HoHoKus Brook, upstream from the dams at Whites Pond, Ackermans Mills, and Cooks Pond. Any of these dams would have been impassable to any other native fish. The rubble at the foot of the dam at Ackermans Mills would have stopped a salmon.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:32 am
by Rusty Spinner
Pete wrote: ↑Tue Jul 24, 2018 10:26 am
Rusty Spinner wrote: ↑Mon Jul 23, 2018 10:54 pm
American eels can slither out of water and over dams very easily which is why we see them well upstream of even the largest of dams in rivers connected to the ocean. We had them spilling (more like slithering) out of the bucket up in Hampton on the Musky many years ago before either Finesville Mill or Hughesville Mill dam were removed. They got over both of those, the huge Warren Glen Mill dam, the large dam in Bloomsbury, the Asbury dam and then several more miles upstream to where we encountered them. That's not at all unusual. And they will wind up in the smallest of tribs as well once they are in the main rivers. Everything has its place in the ecosystem, even our native American eels.
When I was a kid, I once caught an eel in HoHoKus Brook, upstream from the dams at Whites Pond, Ackermans Mills, and Cooks Pond. Any of these dams would have been impassable to any other native fish. The rubble at the foot of the dam at Ackermans Mills would have stopped a salmon.
In cases where American eels are the only species trying to be offered passage over a dam, they just tack down astroturf for the eels to slither up and that works great.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 5:04 pm
by Razorbacker
martalus wrote: ↑Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:49 am
Did you ever see that show where they show people who make a living off the land. There is one guy who traps eels for a living in Hancock New York on the Big D. I only have fished up that way for trout a handful of times and I did see eels or lampreys teach time.
"Mountain Men"?
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 6:04 pm
by Rusty Spinner
Razorbacker wrote: ↑Tue Jul 24, 2018 5:04 pm
martalus wrote: ↑Tue Jul 24, 2018 9:49 am
Did you ever see that show where they show people who make a living off the land. There is one guy who traps eels for a living in Hancock New York on the Big D. I only have fished up that way for trout a handful of times and I did see eels or lampreys teach time.
"Mountain Men"?
Ray Turner of Hancock, NY still catches and smokes American eels that he sells in his store, Delaware Delicacies Smoke House in Hancock. We stop for some every year of our Trout Louts trip in early May. He is still using the weirs that native Americans first built and used for the same purposes. Look him up online. Neat stuff.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:41 am
by Johnw
The Toms and Manasquan rivers are loaded with eels. I've participated in several electro fishing projects on both rivers and we always turned up dozens of eels, all small (few inches) as I remember. Always wondered if trout eat them.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 3:21 pm
by Rusty Spinner
Johnw wrote: ↑Wed Jul 25, 2018 9:41 am
The Toms and Manasquan rivers are loaded with eels. I've participated in several electro fishing projects on both rivers and we always turned up dozens of eels, all small (few inches) as I remember. Always wondered if trout eat them.
It is very tough with the smaller nets used by the Division to effectively capture a lot of the adult eels. They just slither out of buckets and nets too easily. We keep count on rivers like the Musky without actually capturing them in nets and transferring them to buckets later to be counted, measured, assessed for overall health, etc. when I have electrofished with Division staff before. I've seen lots and lots of American eels over 36" in NJ rivers and streams including sometimes very small tributaries of the larger rivers like the Raritan and Musconetcong as two examples.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:41 pm
by Twism86
So if all American Eels spawn in the Atlantic, how do we have them in places like Round Valley?
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:47 pm
by Rusty Spinner
Twism86 wrote: ↑Mon Jul 30, 2018 1:41 pm
So if all American Eels spawn in the Atlantic, how do we have them in places like Round Valley?
Many adults enter rivers where they live except when they head back to the ocean to spawn. They can wriggle out of water for a long time and are able to get over most any dam, although not always in good numbers. Dam removals remain the best bet for eel passage and to restore their numbers. But lots of American eels get upstream of some significant dams they encounter along the way.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 8:29 am
by Jerzguy21
If you stop by the Fisheries office in Lebanon, there is a huge eel hanging on the wall that hung in Effingers for well over 50 years. It was caught in an old Quarry in Martinsville which has no feed except springs. This means that it had to come from the Raritan, up Middle Brook (Toms Brook), around a 30' dam, up through the Bound Brook reservoir, and up a small brook , over 100 yds of wetlands to reach the quarry.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:02 pm
by lightenup
eels are everywhere, as a child, I used to catch them at the Clinton falls under the wall, and above the falls and in the Resevoir....they are disgusting, tie themselves up in knots and slime all over everything.....if I see one on my line i just cut it and re-tie. Although I don't do much fishing like that anymore...
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:14 pm
by NJpatbee
My grandfather and fellow Italian buddies treated eels like gold. I used to take the train from Hackensack to Hoboken with my cousin and we brought along spinning rods, bait, and an empty potato sack. We used to fish an abandoned pier before Hoboken’s rebirth and usually wound up with between one and two dozen eels in the sack. When we got back and showed our catch to my grandfather and his pals they would yell with joy. And of course they handed the sack to my grandmother to clean and prepare.
I never tried them but, hey, as a kid I would fish for anything. Sorry to hear their numbers are down.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:11 pm
by BiggerThomas
NJpatbee wrote: ↑Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:14 pm
My grandfather and fellow Italian buddies treated eels like gold.
Same for my Italian relatives. Any time I see an eel, I think of my Aunt Connie (who has been dead for 20 years).
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 9:56 pm
by Baccala
Here in Roxbury people fish for eels in Horseshoe lake. It is connected the Black River by a small ditch. I was surprised by how many are caught.
Re: WTS surprise tenant
Posted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 10:28 am
by cappy
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.