New Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish 2007-08

[007]

Hi everyone.

 

Last night I picked up a copy of the new Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish for 2007-08 and noticed that there was a new bit of text at the beginning of the book (after the bit about encouraging people not to eat Muskies). It was regarding the American eel, the guide says that due to dwindling populations the Ontario Government has increased protection for them by banning recereational eel angling. If you catch one it MUST by law be released back in to the water from where it came.

 

Just thought you all should be aware of this change (as I'm not sure the regs mention anything), though I doubt many people target them anyway. In fact I don't think I have seen any reports or photos of people catching eels while I've been an OFNCer in the last 2 years. Has anyone out there caught one before? Any photos?

 

007

Edited May 11, 2007 by OO7

[Raf]

We used to target & catch them and yes, eat 'em 20 years or so ago out of Lake O. They taste great smoked. They are most active at night and we'd use liver or some other form of stinkbait on the bottom (much like catfish'n). Tricky buggers would often wrap themselves in structure. They are also a handful once landed, sharp teeth and squirm endlessly. Salt or a pitchfork where the tail meets the body would instantly paralyze them.

 

They're a very interesting species if you are into the science. Opposite of Salmon in that they spawn out in saltwater and mature in our lakes.

[Golfisher]

I have a phobia of things that wiggle and squarm excessively... took me a while just to get used to worms, and so eels are definitely not my cup of tea. Just thinking of them gives me creeps. Yikes.

[FinS]

american eel is that considered a ling

[Fisherman]

No, it's an eel.

[ketchenany]

Sorry, I should have posted that it was out I finished it a moth ago.

 

Gets abit boring reding all those numbers and fish name, Lucky I only have to do it every two years.

[BabyHerc]

Ling are also known as burbout or eelpout. An eel is totally different.

[dsn]

I have seen them caught before. Cousin George from "Hooked On Fishing" used to catch them and keep some. They would smoke them. I won't touch anything that looks like a snake.

 

I did a search online and heres what I came up with. Pics'

 

 

 

 

Check out this link!!

Photos of Amercan eels millions of them

Edited May 11, 2007 by dsn

[Daplumma]

We have them down here and once in a while we get them while catfishing.Not much fun to take off the hook.There are warnings here about eating no more than one a month on the stretch of the river that we catfish.No problem there,not sure how to cook them.

Joe

[Fisherman]

Gut them, brine them and then smoke them. The skin is like leather, run a sharp tip knife just under the skin and peal it back, very good eating.

[Roy]

Lots of eels here. They're easy to avoid if you don't want them. Eels, catfish and sturgeon basically eat the same things. Here, the cats are in sluggish waters, if you move out to water with a little more current you'll get eels.....more current again and deeper water will get you sturgeon. Eels are very slimey but I prefer catching an eel to catching anything with a mouth that looks like it was manufactured by Electrolux.

 

My brother and I used to target eels in a place called St-Louis de Gonzague...we'd hang them on our bicycle handlebars and sell them to the usual suspects in town for 25 cents a piece. It would keep us in lures. We were 8 or 9 at the time so it was nice money.

[irishfield]

Eels are very slimey but I prefer catching an eel to catching anything with a mouth that looks like it was manufactured by Electrolux.