# Where and how to catch fresh water eel.



## antsrealm (Nov 22, 2011)

Hi Guys,

Been tempted to try a bit of shark fishing lately and see that fresh water eel is the bait of choice. Can anyone recommend a place close to where I live (Murarrie, Brisbane) to catch these eels. Also what bait and techniques should be used.

Thanks,
Tony.


----------



## BIGKEV (Aug 18, 2007)

Hey Tony, the humble catfish is also an excellent shark bait and very easy to catch at murrarie with nearly every bait tossed out into the river likely to attract one. Because the river is so loaded with them, they will be a big part of the river bullies regular diet.

Just be very careful of the spines on the dorsal and pectoral fins, best to take them off using a pair of side cutters. These things make excellent crab pot baits too.

As for the eels, can't help sorry.....

Kev


----------



## antsrealm (Nov 22, 2011)

Yeah no worries, Thanks for the info.


----------



## Thegaff (Apr 19, 2011)

My grandfather when he was a boy in holland use to get a pair of stockings and put some red meat in there and let it tangle in the canal and wait for an eel to bit at it and due to the way a eels teeth work they would be stuck on the stocking and he would just pull them up.


----------



## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

Thegaff said:


> My grandfather when he was a boy in holland use to get a pair of stockings and put some red meat in there and let it tangle in the canal and wait for an eel to bit at it and due to the way a eels teeth work they would be stuck on the stocking and he would just pull them up.


Very interesting nfo. Eels are delicious as well. Problem is - they're slippery as....


----------



## Duggo (Dec 29, 2012)

Clearly not too slippery for a Tiger to handle!!!


----------



## spork (Jan 21, 2012)

Try to catch a trout, after dark, with an earthworm. Gauranteed eels.


----------



## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

Eels breed in the ocean, so although they are found a long way inland, they need to get there from the ocean at some point. Unlike fish, they can get past small sections of land / weirs etc.
Best bet is a flesh or worm bait at night on a handline. They pull hard so can be troublesome on a rod and reel. They can bite through quite thick mono.
There are size and bag limits.
Eels are not exactly endangered, but they are not doing particularly well either so I would not be using them for bait myself. They are good to eat smoked.


----------



## mangajack (Jul 23, 2007)

30lb handline, 2/0 hook and a cube of red meat or liver or kidney. Look for a narrow piece of creek with plenty of weed growth. throw the bait on the edge of the weed and wait. hit them quickly and get that head above the weed and slide them in to shore. If you let that head below the weed you will be in for a mammoth task. At night they will feed right into the 2" deep shallow waters.


----------



## WhipperSnapper (Jun 2, 2012)

if you want to catch a shark then try targetting jewfish. you'll get em everytime...


----------



## badmotorfinger (Mar 15, 2010)

Centennial Park Sydney eels are best caught with some beach side romance in New Caledonia. Incredible creatures

http://m.smh.com.au/environment/conserv ... 1n11j.html


----------



## antsrealm (Nov 22, 2011)

I'm going to bump this one again as we are looking at having a crack at some sharks again. As stated I'm at Murarrie but willing to travel around, is there anywhere that anyone is catching freshwater eels at the moment that actually produces results?


----------



## antsrealm (Nov 22, 2011)

Could, and we've used mullet before but I keep hearing the eel is by far the best bait around. Keen to try it.


----------



## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

antsrealm said:


> I'm going to bump this one again as we are looking at having a crack at some sharks again. As stated I'm at Murarrie but willing to travel around, is there anywhere that anyone is catching freshwater eels at the moment that actually produces results?


Tony, go to Moogerah Dam just below the spillway. Any bait, meat, chicken, worms. You will score. They are good eating on their own.

There are plenty of other shark baits such as mullet fillets available with less driving and effort. Ask WayneD.


----------



## TarponRob (Oct 14, 2012)

Humpy Bong creek in Redcliffe is loaded with the biggest, fattest eels you will find anywhere. There are signs that say no fishing in the creek, north of Anzac ave. but no signs on the southern end. The southern end has several weirs, i used to catch spangled perch & tilapia when i was a youngster. I have also heard that a great burley for eels is rotten eggs. Good luck.


----------



## jbonez (Jul 9, 2013)

At murrarie hey, the fish market on lytton road always has fresh fish frames for cheap, they even had some tuna heads from some barrel tuna, looked around 80kg -100kg worth of fish used to be attached.

You could pickup plenty of fresh enough to be shark bait from there.

What sort of rig are you thinking about using for the sharks? Those off the shelf clear coated rigs are not much chop you are better off making your own.


----------



## RhubarbTheYeti (Oct 28, 2013)

TarponRob said:


> I have also heard that a great burley for eels is rotten eggs. Good luck.


Some local Taswegians here have said that ''back in the good old days'' the best spot to catch the biggest, fattest eels was where an abattoir was dumping waste into a creek. Why can't they do that anymore :shock:


----------



## cam07 (Sep 12, 2008)

We have tried eel when we used to fish for bullies when we were kids, the best baits we found were live mullet or bony bream


----------



## antsrealm (Nov 22, 2011)

jbonez said:


> At murrarie hey, the fish market on lytton road always has fresh fish frames for cheap, they even had some tuna heads from some barrel tuna, looked around 80kg -100kg worth of fish used to be attached.
> 
> You could pickup plenty of fresh enough to be shark bait from there.
> 
> What sort of rig are you thinking about using for the sharks? Those off the shelf clear coated rigs are not much chop you are better off making your own.


Yeah I am there often enough and I have seen that bucket. They charge a fair bit for them from memory. Probably will give something from there a go as well as the trusty mullet fillets if we don't find the eel. To kick things off I was going to use my Shimano terez 26kg rod with the okuma salina 3 10,000 reel spooled with 50lb braid attached to some 80lb leader attached to a wire trace we bought a while ago from tackle wharehouse that were made of multistrand wire, nylon coated with 2 x 8/0 circle hooks. Either going to deploy at night from the murarrie park or from the pinkenbar area where you park the 4x4 for the poo chute.


----------



## jbonez (Jul 9, 2013)

Nice mate if you find your not catching try some single strand light wire 50-100lb with a short trace and some lighter gear if u want a bit of fun.. not all the sharks are monsters in the river


----------



## antsrealm (Nov 22, 2011)

jbonez said:


> Nice mate if you find your not catching try some single strand light wire 50-100lb with a short trace and some lighter gear if u want a bit of fun.. not all the sharks are monsters in the river


Ok, I'll throw that on the 30lb braid rig.


----------



## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

WayneD is your man for sharks, unless you catch Salti's attempts to catch a tuna, cobe or marlin at SWR.

Ask Wayne what he uses (remember they are not bad eating on their own, though sharks have no bones to deal with).


----------



## vladimir (Jan 2, 2013)

go for a wonder around the lakes and ponds of yre local golf course u should see shti loads of eels if not try another golf course then u can figure out how to catch them . my golf course is full of freshwater eels .


----------

