Come on and do the Conger - December 2017

With the cod fishing being so poor, we’ve been looking at alternative options to get a bend in the rod in the latter part of the year. Steve at Brigand Charters had been trying out a few new wrecks prospecting for conger and had been very pleasantly surprised by the hectic sport that was found on occasions.  This was something I really wanted to have a go at. They grow big, fight hard and look mean – right up my street then.

Being an all-rounder, fishing freshwater and saltwater too means there’s always something that I’ve not yet tried or a species I’ve yet to catch. Conger Eels are one such species that I’d just never got around to having a go at. With that in mind, I booked myself in with ‘Brigand Charters’ for one of their dedicated conger trips on a suitable tide in early December.

Angler Rob - latches into a big conger

The weather was atrocious leading up to the trip and I had written it off to be honest. With 40 mph winds it didn’t look good and then out of nowhere the forecast changed and it was looking 50/50 according to Skipper Steve. Amazingly, that evening the call came and I was informed we had the green light. We were going.

Rather than use traditional conger tackle I decided to take along a heavy jigging rod that I use on my tropical travels and an 8000 sized Penn fixed spool reel loaded with 50lb braid. I prefer this kind of tackle to conventional multipliers and I’ve boated tuna over 100 lb on this set-up. I had no worries about giving the eels some serious stick to get them away from the wreck should I be lucky enough to hook one.

FishyRob was on board that day jigging up Pollack as we fished for the eels.

The first wreck we tried was no good, the eels weren’t at home. We tried another one and things improved quickly here. Within 10 minutes of getting our baits down the bites started to come. There were a couple of dropped eels at the back of the boat and then my rod tip started to go. I gave a little line, waited for it to tap again, wound down until I felt some weight and then slammed the hook home.

There was a dead weight on the end of the line, so I pumped it hard and away from the wreck a good few times before the eel woke up and realised what was happening. Then the crash dives started and the fish used huge amounts of strength in its bid to get back to the wreck and cut me off. I was amazed at the power it had, my jigging rod hadn’t taken on a curve like that since I was out on Ascension Island!

Tense moments as the eel comes alongside

It wasn’t long before my sturdy tackle did its job and the eel was spinning on the surface, 40 feet downtide of the boat.  I brought it alongside and Skipper Steve slid it through the door on to the rear deck. He used a T-bar to unhook the eel easily and after a few quick photos I slid the fish back. What an amazing experience it was. Easily the strongest fish I have caught in UK waters, I will be trying for a much bigger specimen next year.

Later in the day, the eels revealed their true power when not one, but two rods of my fellow anglers were broken by big fish. I’m glad I went along with the big guns. If there’s any weakness in your tackle, then a big eel is going to find it. These fish need to be respected and fished for accordingly, that’s for sure!