Being of an enquiring nature.

I spent a very enjoyable, Thursday, evening eel fishing on a small drain out near Pluck's Gutter - I'm telling you this because I won't be going back there any time soon! It is a lovely secluded spot and one where I had a, unsuccessful, dabble for carp way back in July/August. The majority of the aquatic weed-beds are now in advanced state of decay and I was able to position both my baits without worrying about my terminal rigs getting snagged or masked.



Bite indication - simplicity itself

Bite indication is via my preferred option of light weight monkeys on angled needles, in conjunction with open bale arms. I have the utmost confidence that this set up allows the most sensitive, and resistance free, bite detection in the situations that I am fishing - very close range. Obviously this is backed up by "front runner" electronic bite alarms - negating the requirement of my total focus on two fluorescent monkeys, I'm free to look around and enjoy the wildlife that shares the habitat. Last night is was a close encounter with a Barn Owl and a small bat sp. which provided the early action before darkness fell and it was the music of Golden Plovers flighting over towards Grove Ferry and duet-ing Little Owls.

The Albright knot is now my standard method of using a braided hook link. The stiffness of the mono
providing fantastic anti-tangle properties to my terminal rigs, this has not always been true when
using some of the very soft Kryston materials. (Image taken from Internet - artist unknown)

At 18.55 hrs the right-hand rod had a lovely slow take, the resultant strike seeing the rod arch over and a lively eel of 1lbs 12oz find its' way to my landing net. The successful method was hair-rigged Spratt, head section, on a high abrasion resistant braid/ 12lbs b.s. mono combi rig. (about 10" long) with a size 9 barbless hook.

Something rather pre-historic about these fish; when looked at closely.

The eel was retained in my landing net, hook link unclipped and a new one attached (about 18" long) and another Spratt head section cast back into the swim. With this completed, I was able to unhook my capture and grab a few images, as it lay on my weigh sling. Job done, I had to wait for another ninety minutes before the same rod was away again. This time it was an absolute screaming take and I completely missed it! Didn't feel a thing, although the bait was gone. How? Why? With work calling, at 06.00 hrs, and a longish walk back to my car, I packed up and headed for home, my mind full of questions.
I have spent a day pondering such things and have a few ideas rumbling around inside my head. My early thinking is along the lines that my first bite came from a fish which was the first to discover my swim and was feeding confidently, without any competition, hence the nice slow lift. The second one, however, was feeding with other eels and, having found some food, bolted off with its' prize to avoid loosing it to a larger fish?

There are no images of me holding any eel I've ever caught. I will probably use this fact as a driver
for revisiting the challenge sometime in the future?

There are a few other theories about rig length and materials which I am still exploring and I have just one more session planned before I can forget all about these slimy pests. I will give my final verdict after this session which, at the moment, is planned for Sunday night. Strange, as it might seem, I feel I might revisit this challenge next Summer with a very different frame of mind and expectations.