Congers
Congers can provide good sport all year round,
the main governing factor
being water clarity, if the water is clear its hard to catch eels in
less than 30 meters of water, if the water is coloured, as it often is
after a storm, then congers can be caught on any patch of rough ground.
To stand the best chance of having a good day on eels pick a
small tide and anchor off an offshore wreck, when it comes right this
can be
a great day out struggling with these hard fighting snakes. Congers
will attack most baits, fresh mackerel, cutle, squid, but for a big
fish a
whole jumbo pout is the favourite. I release most eels at the side of
the boat but I'm always up for getting a big one into the boat for a
photo
and to be weighed. As one of the better sporting fish I prefer to see congers returned, but if you
really want to keep one try and take a small to medium size fish, again not a rule
just a guideline.
Conger rigs because of their size, hard boney jaw and
environment they live in, it is essential to fish a bit on the
heavy side for them, it's recommended to use at least 30lb class
tackle with a rubbing leader of at least 60lb mono, as few
swivels and links as possible 3/0 to 10/0 heavy hook with 2 to 3
foot of at least 150lb mono, but if you want to land a real big
one it's worth going as heavy as 300lb BS, best baits are whole
Squid ,Cuttlefish, Flappered Mackerel and fresh Pouting. Adding
large luminous muppets work very well too.
Have a look below at some of the conger caught from my previous boat
Seajay, hover over the image to see a larger picture.
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