Artificial Eels?

[The Point]

Originally Posted by Reelthing1323

well i was trying to come up with a rig that would get a little deeper for trolling and casting along the upper potomac north of chain bridge......some of the water up there can get as deep as 70 ft......and i don't have and way to use a down rigger because (please try not to laugh) i'll be using only a canoe........yes a canoe....... i have set up my canoe with rodholders that act almost like small outriggers .......i will be able to troll up to three rods as fast as my arms will allow (seriously stop laughing) so i figure i will need that extra weight of the tin squid as well as the swim it will give the eel....... btw not that it is a very broad subject in the striper world but does anyone have any tips for trolling from a canoe??

If this is True invest in a little trolling motor and rig a set up on the canoe.. :) best i can do. and from my experiences in a canoe. Three Drunk guys in a canoe trying to stand to fish doesnt work. you will tip it over and it will fill with water. :)

[zimno1]

I thought running the trail hook through the back and out then run the jig hook up and into the eye of the trailer and out the top of the head but closing the eye while inside eel may frig up the eel. (unless you could run the connection out the top just to close it but i think that might tear it up (or could put some softex or something back in to seal it back up. ??? better looking now then before.

[Reelthing1323]

thanks zim

[Roccus]

if those fish are 70' down, your better off yo-yoing a diamon jig, hopkins or crippled herring... that rig wont make the bottom if there is any tide at all... I'll do a "how to" in a few weeks on rigging some of this stuff as soon as my work load calms down...

[Reelthing1323]

yeah i have a few hopkins and the like......but they are usually holding shallower than that.......there are only a few areas that deep.......thanks roccus, always look forward to getting more info from you guys

[waterchaser]

there is nothing like the real eels i catch them every time i go striper fishing in the hudson. just bop them over the head curse at them and throw thew back on you line that you caught them on. maybe you will catch a striper.

[striper-striker]

Whatdo you use as bait to catch those eels? sandworms?

[Reelthing1323]

i have to use the soft plastic eels until may.....live one aren't allowed during the begining of the spawn.....after that....game on

[Reelthing1323]

another thought.....anyone ever tried drop shotting for largemouth and smallmouth?? it is one of my favorite tactics around here because of the pressure put on the lakes and rivers in the DC area......anyone try it on a larger scale for stripers?? with a dead or artificial eel or a big fin-s/ sluggo i think it could work pretty well

[zimno1]

sconey's got even bigger ones that he rigged.

[Reelthing1323]

yeah, something like that zim......i've tied a few rigs......40lb test, a short shank hook in the middle secured with a palomar knot or dropper loop (so long as the hook rides up i guess it doesn't matter, although with the palomar the hook stands straight out) and left a 2ft tag end to attach a sinker

[zimno1]

i really want the hook to act as a keel for these. i fish them in the flat on sandy bottom so not concerned about hook location. i much rather save them for bass fishing on the lake but rarely get the opportunity as of late.

[scone]

the squid tins, or wobble heads, won't get you down all that deep, they tend to ride up the faster you pull them. try riggen them "canal" style put them on a 4 oz jig they'll get down in the fastest water.
i've also tried, with mixed results, putting one of those bullet shaped sinkers in between a couple of beads up ahead of the sluggo or fake eel,(a left over from my fresh water days)
don't think you need to worry about downturned hooks catching the bottom, i fish tandem rigged sluggos, both hooks down, as close to the bottom as i can get them and almost never have i lost one to the rocks. with a lift, rahter than a pull of the rod, theyseem to pull free.
keep it simple, there's some science to it but not aerospace.

[FLOATSUM]

Nuttin wrong with using a canoe in the salt, as long as you don't mind a ride.

I find the top one to be a nice artificial eel (on the fly).

[zimno1]

which was the one you made for the fly swap? i have all of them separate from all my fly;s for a good run of fish to get pics with but forgot who tied what by now>