Eel Fishing
Many years ago, before the long period of absence from the sport, I joined the British Eel Angling Society, which was run by John Sidley. I had caught eels like most other anglers, when not seeking them, and like most anglers I viewed them as a problem to be avoided at all costs. My attitude changed one day while pike fishing up on the fens. The going was very slow, but I was getting the odd single beep from the buzzers, and the deadbaits when retrieved showed signs of damage in the stomach area. But no runs were forthcoming. I decided to reduce the size of the deadbaits to see if I could encourage a take. Eventually the buzzer sounded, and I pulled into a fish. I knew that it was not a pike, as the fight was unlike anything that I had previously encountered. When the fish finally came to net we were all amazed to see a very large eel. With much help from other anglers who had assembled around the commotion, we managed to unhook the fish, weight it and get it back into the drain without too much trouble. I doubted if I would have managed this if I had been out fishing alone. The eel weighted a stunning 3 pound 1 ounce. I decided there and then that I would try and find out as much as I could about these fish. I do not remember how I found out about John, but he had recently started the eel angling club, so I immediately joined, as I knew that I would be able to write and chat to other like minded anglers. At that time, anybody who professed to have an interest in eels as a worthy sporting fish, and not to take home and eat, was seen as eccentric to say the least.
I first met John at a fish in that he had organized at one of the Wraysbury pits. My distant memory says that we set up, and fished through the Saturday night. John would appear in the swims throughout the night to see that everyone was OK. I think that we all managed to catch eels, some more than others. After everyone was checked, and the fish returned to the water, we assembled in the swim that John had been fishing on and of during the night. When he dragged his keep net from the water, I could only stare in near disbelief. He had managed to catch as many eels as all the rest of us put together, and remember that he had spent a lot of time helping others. The first question that I asked was where had he managed to catch so many eels from. John pointed to a distant piece of land and said that he had been fishing up close to it. I do not know how far away the land was, but it was further than I could have cast. As well as the great distance, you had to be very accurate, as a bit too far, and you were in the reeds and underwater roots. We had already seen Johns fishing gear, and what had struck us all, was that it was actual fishing tackle, with no pretensions, and was certainly not posers tackle as is the norm of today’s specimen hunters. All of his tackle looked to be well worn, as if it had put in many hours, in the dark at the waters edge. Somebody asked if he would show us how it was possible to make such a cast. He picked up one of his muddy rods, and with apparent effortless ease banged it out to the distant landfall. It touched down about six feet from the edge of the reed bed. Bloody amazing. John was the first person that I had come across who knew how to unhook and handle the powerful fish. He showed us how to scratch a shallow groove in the ground. How to lay the eel upside down, and then to gently stroke its belly until it stopped its struggles. The man appeared to have almost mystical powers that had been denied to the rest of us. Everyone who was present on that night could not fail to be impressed by his knowledge and skill. He had shown us that it was possible to target and catch large eels, without the use of up market sophisticated tackle. Ability and knowledge were of far more importance in the quest for this worthy adversary. Many thanks to John for the introduction to the world of real anglers, and a better understanding concerning the much maligned eel. A word here about Johns up market and very sophisticated bite indicators. His set up was that after he had made his cast and tightened up to his lead, he would open the bale arm of the reel. Next he would place a penny coin on top of the spool to trap the line. Underneath the reel on the ground he placed an old rusty hub cap from some long deceased car. When he had a take, the line would tighten, dislodge the coin which dropped into the metal hub cap with a loud clatter. Simple, effective and not very high tech at all.
This coming year, I am going to see if the ex gravel pit that I have access to contains any eels. There would appear to be no earthly reason why it should not. At one end of the pit, a small river flows within twenty feet. I does not seem possible that some eels have not managed the overland journey on a damp night to seek out the pits sanctuary. As the pit is controlled by the angling club that I belong to, and is solely fished by its members, and for a fact I know that nobody has the remotest interest in eels, it must be seen as a virgin water. How about that for a piece of luck. The only drawback that I can see, is that the pit contains a large head of twenty and thirty pound carp, and it will only be a matter of time before a home grown forty turns up. The temptation is to fish for the carp is almost irresistible.