Species: Conger Eel
About Congers
Congers are powerful fish who mostly congregate around rough ground, feeding on small fish and crustaceans. In shallow waters (which
basically means most, if not all of Manx shore marks) they mostly feed at night.
The conger does not have any scales, instead
it's skin is covered in a protective slime. It's upper jaw extends beyond it's lower jaw, and it's dorsal fin starts
at the pectoral fins and runs the entire length of the body. The back is usually coloured a very dark
shade of grey, and the underside is pale. However, an eel that has ventured out onto sand to feed may be much lighter in colour.
Fishing for congers is something you either love or hate to do. I know of many anglers who would be happy never to see a conger eel, but I absolutely love fishing for them.
Congers have strong jaws and sharp teeth, so it certainly pays to be wary of them, but in truth, so long as you handle them carefully then you are in absolutely no danger from the eel. In fact, the eel is in much more danger from you. Overhandling will remove the protective slime. It will also cause the eel to thrash about more, with the increased risk of it harming itself.
They will happily survive out of water for much longer than most fish, and they have a reputation of being difficult to kill - not that I can understand why anyone would want to kill them!!!
Handle all congers gently, and return them to the water as soon as possible. There is no merit in keeping them, and it is an enjoyable sight to watch a conger power away back down into the depths to prey on unsuspecting fish.
Tackle
Fishing for congers certainly does not require finesse, it is usually all about brute force, but this doesn't mean that you can't get sport out of fishing for them, or that you have to use tackle that could handle a great white shark.
Many anglers use broom handle type boat rods for targeting eels, but personally I always use a stiff 12 foot beachcaster. I have more fun catching eels on this than the few occasions that I have caught them on a boat rod. On the beachcaster you really appreciate the powerful fight of the eel. Reels need to be strong (preferably a multiplier), and be loaded with heavy line. I use Diawa Slosh 30's loaded with 35lb line for all my congering. Again, this will be considered as light by some anglers, but only twice have I lost an eel that I simply couldn't control on this outfit.
Methods
There is nothing difficult about deciding how to fish for congers. All you need a simple running ledger trace with a large bait fished on the bottom.
When it comes to the trace material, you have the choice between nylon covered wire and mono. Wire tends to kink very easily, and it requires crimping. It can also cut into your hand while you are attempting to lift an eel out of the water. For these reasons I prefer 150lb mono. This is not prone to kinking, knots easily and is generally much more pleasant to use.
Making the trace is simple. Tie a strong quality rolling swivel to one end of the mono, then a strong bronzed hook to the other end about 2ft away. Quality swivels need not be large in size. A small strong rolling swivel is much better than a large barrel swivel because the rolling swivel will still work while under pressure. As anyone who has caught an eel will know, they can spin like crazy, so a quality swivel is a must. My preference for hooks is 6/0 to 8/0 bronzed O'Shaughnessy. Stainless steel hooks should be avoided because quite often the eel will be deep hooked, leaving you with no option other than to cut the trace. The bronzed hook will disintegrate quite quickly.
It is a good idea to attach the weight via a weaker length of line. You will invariably get caught up and lose lots of tackle when targeting congers, but the weak link to the weight can sometimes result in just losing a weight, and being able to retrieve the trace. Virtually all of my eels are caught directly beneath my feet, so there is no need to incorporate expensive rotten bottom links as all baits are simply lobbed out.
Make plenty of traces in advance, and be prepared to lose lots of them, especially if you are fishing from the rocks.
Baits
The majority of anglers use mackerel baits when fishing for congers, and I am no exception. That is not to say that it is the only bait that catches eels, or even that it is the best bait to use. Mackerel is used because it is usually easy and convenient to obtain. Fresh mackerel is generally better than frozen, but frozen bait still catches plenty of eels.
Alternative baits are the species of small fish that the conger will naturally be feeding on. This includes pouting, rockling, callig and whiting. It is often possible to catch these fresh while you are fishing for congers. The fresh caught fish can be fished as a live bait, or killed and used as a flapper or fillet. Congers can also be caught on squid, or large cocktails baits.
I have tried experimenting on a couple of occasions with groundbait of fish heads and guts contained in an onion sack, which is tied to a rope, weighed down with a stone and dropped down the side. The indications are that this improves my conger catches, but it is something I am still experimenting with.
Perhaps the most frustrating part of fishing for congers is having your baits robbed by dogfish. If dogfish are a problem then live baits can give you a better chance of avoiding them.
When to fish
Without doubt, the best time to target conger from the shore is at night. That is not to say that they cannot be caught during the day (especially on deeper marks on overcast days) but for consistent results darkness is better. Many anglers will fish for congers during the day on a second rod while they focus on other species, but if you are going to specifically target eels, then you need to concentrate on fishing at night.
Conger generally feed for short periods of time during the tide - mostly concentrated around a short spell either side of low and high water. The only way to find out the best time to fish at any particular mark is to fish it often and keep notes. By doing this I have discovered that one mark I fish for congers is best fished over high water, and another is best fished over low water. This means I have a mark to fish whatever state the tide is.
Where to Fish
Congers can be caught from most rocks marks, and breakwaters. The Battery Pier in Douglas, the old breakwater in Port Erin and Port St Mary Breakwater are all popular and comfortable places to fish.
If you decide to fish from the rocks then you need to take into consideration how you are going to land any eels. This requires easy and safe access to the waters edge. You may also need to locate cleared areas of ground so that tackle losses are not unbearable. There is also the safety aspect to consider. Ideally you should not fish alone, and you will certainly need a quality headlamp.
Catch reports from recent years suggest that congers venture onto relatively shallow beaches at certain times of year. At these times they are probably following and feeding on the large shoals of small whiting that appear. In theory it should be possible to target these roaming eels quite easily, but in practice this would probably result in a long waiting game. I haven't personally tried this yet, but if anyone else has, then I would be interested to hear about it via the contact form.
