Newboy Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Josh had a deckhand on the Guernsey trip, his name is Doug, he's a pub landlord. He's a keen fisherman and also a diver. He said after the Weymouth conger festival, his mate who is also a diver, went to one of the deeper wreck with him and saw a dozen or so or dead congers by the wreck. He recken a lot of the eels die after they were released. Yes it maight be true they all swam away happily, but they don't live for very long after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Fox Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 It's grim if "catch and release" isn't working with conger. Has this been witnessed before? Is it possible that an angling boat "dumped" dead eels before returning back to harbour? While still unpleasant, it would be reassuring for the future of catch and release if anyone could confirm this. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 I reasonably treated (Not brought in the boat and allowed to thrash themselves senseless on the gunnels) I would be surprised as they always seem quite hardy. I have caught the same eel a number of times in the past. On several occassions we have hooked the same eel twice in a day and on other occassions we have hooked the same fish a number of weeks later over the same wreck. Although it pains me to say it, I would find it more likely that some idiot had dumped a load of fish for whatever reason, or they had bveen very poorly handled. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy fred Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 so if you caught the same conger twice in one day i supose you only caught one fish in theory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomBettle Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 errrrr I guess so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazy fred Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 could it be they commited mass suiside as they heard i was on my way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fugazi Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 I've seen plenty of congers survive OK with hooks still attached, even hand fed them. Have also found them trapped, starved and covered in sores in lost lobster pots. When released they all seem to swim away strongly proving they are very hardy, sounds like these were dumped. Gordon H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Fox Posted April 27, 2006 Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 To add to the hardy conger theory, I once gutted a conger of around 40lb for a client on board a commercial boat back in 1981. Everyone on board was shocked when we found 11 hooks in it. Most were in the stomach in various states of corrosion, but the eel was clearly still feeding successfully. Imagine, eleven tales of "the one that got away", and eleven successful escapes, probably all in a couple of months max. One tough eel. Also, once found a smallish live conger of 15-20lb on the Gower coast in a dry rock crevice at the mid-tide mark when looking for edibles and lobster. OK the tidal range is huge there (Bristol Channel etc), but it had probably been high and dry for 4 hours. No way could I get it out, and it seemed to back further into the crevice as I nudged it. I was actually quite happy to leave it there! I still reckon dumping. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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