Striped Bass Fishing with Live Eels Cape Cod Massachusetts

http://www.JerrysBaitAndTackle.com
Jerry's Bait & Tackle
22 Bragg Slip
Milford, MA 01757
P: 508-473-9748

Eels can be tricky to get on the hook, especially if you plan on double rigging a live eel for trolling-so it can be smart keep at least a half dozen eels directly on ice. The ice will put the eel in a nearly comatose state, making the "snake" a lot easier to hook.

One of the best advantages of fishing with live eels is the inherent versatility of the live eel presentation. Live eels can be cast, drifted and trolled with ease. However the details involved in each technique can have a dramatic effect on the success of each presentation.
For me, casting eels to big bass is the most desirable of scenarios. Upon locating an area holding bass, I will cruise through the fishy spot until locating a defined school of bass on my sonar. Under these circumstances it is as easy as simply flipping the eel off the side of the boat and holding on.

However, often time's bass are spread out amongst a large area and are difficult to pinpoint. Drifting eels can be more effective under these conditions. Depending on wind and current, I will set the boat in a direction that will bring the boat through the area holding fish.
Sometimes the bass will slurp eels off the surface, even in water as deep as 90 feet. At other times, it may be necessary to add a rubber core sinker in order to get the eel down to the level where the fish are holding.

Trolling an eel can be a nice addition to a trolling spread. Typically I will begin a trip by trolling two tube and worm rigs and one live eel. This way I can tell if the bass prefer the eel or the tube, which seems to change on a trip by trip basis. I will usually use lead core line for trolling eels, and will start by hooking the eel through the snout with a size five or six live bait hook. I will adjust the amount of lead core according to the depth of the marks on the sonar, engage the reel and troll the eel as if it was a tube.
Sometimes when trolling eels, bass will nip at the tail end of the eel and miss the hook. This can be extremely frustrating. The solution is to rig the eel with an additional tail hook. It took some trial and error before figuring out how to do this without the eel turning himself into the dreaded "eel ball," but with certain preparations it can be done.

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Sports

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• Live Eels
• Striped Bass
• Eels
• Striped Bass Fishing
• Cape Cod
• Massachusetts
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