Conger eel

Distribution:

Common all around the coast but particularly on the west  and south coasts of the country. Particular hot spots are Cork harbour, The Lucitania, The Leinster and Valentia where the record fish of 72lbs was taken in 1914. Numerous huge Congers of over 100lbs have been taken from wrecks in the English channel so the Irish record weight is still there to be beaten.

The Conger is an ambush predator and loves rough ground. Rocks, reefs and ship wrecks are the perfect Conger holding ground. Small strap Conger up to 10lb can be found quite close to the shore at the base of cliffs and harbour walls but the truly huge fish are mainly to be found on the deep water wrecks. Conger love to carve out a territory for themselves in large fissures in rocks and wrecks where they will hold up and pounce on unsuspecting passing fish. Rough mixed ground in shallowish water will also hold Conger but it is true that the deeper water marks have a better chance of holding the bigger fish. Conger like to reside where the tidal flow is not as strong. Places they can hide and still get shelter are perfect. Small inlets around a cliff face where a good tide runs past but provides relative shelter are top spots. Conger also like dark deep water marks as they seem to have a dislike for bright light.

Habitat:

Young Conger eels are opertunists and will feed on baby fish, crabs, worms and whatever else they can find. As they grow larger they start to develop a purely fish based diet with Whiting, Poor cod, Rockling, small Wrasse and pouting ranking high on the menu. As they grow to huge sizes they are quite capable of bringing down a large Pollack. Around wrecks however, it is mainly the large shoals of Pouting and Whiting that make up the Congers diet. Mackeral flappers will also work well but try using fillets of Pout and Whiting if this is what the eels are used to. squid can also sometimes work but fish baits that are cut up to let their scent out are more likely to bring the eel out of its hiding place and thus give you a chance to get it to the boat.

Baits:

Congers seem to prefer the neap tides of the month. Strog tidal flows do not seem to please the eels and they will wait until the slack water period at these times to feed. Night fishing or at least dusk or dawn are the prime times. The Deep wreck fish are not really bothered by the weatherbeing sheltered by the deep but as a general rule if the water is choppy catches will be reduced.

Tides and weather:

Tactics:

From an angling point of view the Conger eel borders between the stuff of nightmares and the perfect challange. unlike most other species. fishing for Conger is a long waiting game that can either be very exciting or very tedious. A basic running ledger rig with a two ft trace is used. Your basic rig mono should be 50lb - 80lb depending on the nature of the mark you are fishing. Some wrecks and rock marks can be very abrasive and snap mono easily. You should use a wire trace with a strong 4/0 swivel for the eels tendency to spin when coming to the surface. For large eels hook sizes should be 6/0 - 10/0 to be sure they will not bend under pressure. Baits should be lowered to to rocky marks or within the shadow of the wreck and then a few feet of line slackened off to allow an eel to mouth the bait. Then the waiting game begins. The first signs of a fish are small plucks as the eel mouths the bait. This should be allowed to develop and the reel drag set loose. when the eel takes and the reel starts to 'click' you should lower your rod tip and take up the slack and tighten up your drag. Then firmly hook into the fish and keep the rod at a firm 45 degree angle. From this moment on the rod should not drop beyond this position. The rod may bend double but it is this pressure that will tire the eel. if you lose this it is unlikely you will tire him and he will dive for the cover of his lair.  This initial hook up is the most crucial. It is important that you bully him away from his hole or he will be lost. A butt pad can be very useful for this type of fishing. At more than one stage the eel is likely to disagree with all this and make a series of dives where you may have to give it small amounts of line. when the eel finally comes to the boat be ready for at least one more dive where the fish catches sight of sun light and bolts for cover. Gaffing should be a quick jab in the bottom lip and a single movement hauling aboard. Congers can make a right mess when braught to the deck as the eel lashes about nocking rods and tackle every where. Be prepares for this. Put a cloth over the eels eyes to calm him and make hook removal quick using the eels own body weight and a T-bar for removal. Horror stories about killer eels are unfounded. Don't be intimidated by the eel. Just don't put your fingers into his mouth and you will be fine. Congers dont actually have teeth but gripper pads more like a Ray, Smooth Hounds or Skate...

A typical Conger rig but add a wire trace...

Conger Profile

Back to the Home Page

Back to Species list