Conger Eels are not everyone's cup of tea. They're sinister looking and slimey, they grow to huge sizes and have a cold, wicked look in their eye. They are one of the most impressive sea beasts we have in our British waters, in my opinion. The UK record stands at an impressive 133lb 4oz, caught out of Brixham back in the mid 90's.
Every year, there are specimens over this weight landed commercially. The British Conger Club keep records and there have been fish landed of 210lb, 170lb and 155lb in the fish markets of Devon and Cornwall in recent years. It's quite incredible that the record has stood at 133lb 4oz for so long with fish of that size swimming around out there.
Perhaps the waning interest in Conger fishing as a sport has had much to do with this. It's certainly not as popular as it was back in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Nevertheless, for 'big fish' specialists around the UK, the Conger Eel offers a realistic chance to come face to face with a serious adversary. These giant eels are going to test you, your tackle and your skills to their limits.......and there's a very real chance of bagging yourself a record breaker as well!
One man that's on the case and looking for these ‘giant snakes’ whenever the tides and weather allows, is Kev Mckie. Kev is one of the new generation of skippers that are popping up around the UK. At just 38, he's young and keen. He’s hungry for success and dedicated to providing his customers with an excellent level of service and always going the extra mile (quite literally!) to find the fish.
He owns and runs the very impressive boat 'Size Matters' out of Plymouth during the summer season. He has been fortunate to have had the previous owner 'Graham Hannaford' pass on all his 40 years experience of fishing from this famous port. Combine that with Kev's own vast experience, buckets of passion and a ‘60 mile ticket’ on the boat........this man means business!
Plymouth has a history of producing big eels and Kev is doing his best to find them. With his 60 mile ticket he is able to push out further than most boats and in doing so gets to the less fished wrecks. This makes all the difference and Kev has made some very impressive catches. Huge numbers of eels are the norm on his wrecking trips and so far, he's got 90lb class fish under his belt. 'Size Matters' under Grahams ownership had a handful of fish over 100lb to a best of 106. It's just a matter of time before Kev is pulling his first 100lb'er over the gunwales, that's for sure.
Being as successful as he is; Kev is in demand. 'Size Matters' is booked up months and months ahead at a time. It was back last November that myself and Dan Rogers (my fellow finalist on the BBC Big Fish TV Show) managed to secure the last 2 places on one of his Conger trips. A big Conger Eel had always been something I fancied having a go at and it was a great opportunity to catch up with Dan as well.
We had two days booked with Kev as it’s a long way to go just for the day and luckily for us, the weather was looking good. We arranged to meet him and the other anglers the night before for a beer and some grub so we could all get acquainted before the off. We were a group of ten with guys from Wales, Sussex, Hampshire, Merseyside, Somerset and Herefordshire. A great bunch, all of whom had made the journey to Plymouth with just one thing on their minds......A giant Conger Eel!
As we headed out across Plymouth Sound the next morning aboard the very spacious ‘Size Matters’, Kev explained that we were in for a long day. The wreck he had in mind was around three and a half hours away. With the journey time each way and fishing the ebb tide down on the wreck, he reckoned we’d be on the water for at least 12 hours.
The boat was fully loaded with fresh mackerel and cuttlefish from the quayside in Plymouth. There were at least 4 huge fish boxes rammed with kilos and kilos of the stuff. According to Kev, his conger tactics centre around keeping the scent trail going and that means changing baits regularly. Hence there being huge amounts of the stuff!
As we ploughed on out to sea we passed the time swapping fishy tales, drinking tea and preparing our rigs and tackle. Kev recommended we keep things simple and go for a running ledger rig with a running trace of no less than 250lb mono. The hooklength itself should be 400lb mono and finished off with a strong 10/0 or 12/0 hook, depending on bait size. 50lb class gear and 80lb braid were the order of the day. To me this makes perfect sense; if you do hook into that 100lb eel of a lifetime you want to have the best chance you can of successfully extracting it from the wreck. Simple as that.
We arrived at the wreck a little early and had half an hour to kill before the ebb got going so we made a few drifts across the structure. We all dropped down rubber eels of various types and colours to see if we could nail a few pollock for extra bait. They were fairly obliging and we stuck a few in the box, just in case the conger fancied something different. One of the anglers, Bernie, also caught a cracking coalfish. It was the first time I had ever seen one in the flesh, they’re very beautiful fish.
Kev then dropped the anchor and carefully positioned us uptide of the wreck. We were close enough to ensure the eels could smell our baits but far enough to allow us a good chance of getting the fish up and away from the ironwork. Once we were settled in Kev explained his tactics to us; it was all about teamwork.
The main principle was that you had to put a fresh bait on every 15 minutes, bites or not. Keeping fresh scent streaming down into the wreck was the key to drawing the eels out and getting them actively searching out our offerings. If the scent trail stops then the eels lose interest. We fished in rotation on the deck of the boat as well, dropping your bait in by the wheel house and then slowly moving down to the stern as the other anglers rebaited and dropped in behind you. It was a great system as it kept the scent going in and gave every angler their chances at the back of the boat. It also largely eliminated the risk of tangles.
This system relies on everyone doing their bit and made for great camaraderie on the deck. I opted to hang back on the fishing to start with as I wanted to get some photos for this article. It was quiet at first but the anticipation was electric. Kev was chopping up baits like a machine and encouraging us all to keep changing for a fresh one and rotating round the deck.
About half an hour in, one of the anglers signalled that he was getting a typical conger bite and wound down into the first eel of the trip. It was a modest sized eel and put a nice bend in Robins rod. This was like the opening of the floodgates as from then on, they came in their droves. The action was thick and fast.........the ‘Snake Pit’ was open!
It really was some of the most hectic fishing I have witnessed. Everywhere I looked was a photo opportunity. At times there were 3 or 4 anglers playing big eels simultaneously at the stern. There were fumbling hands frantically trying to nick another flapper on at the bait table and anglers wrestling with eels on the deck for their trophy shot. It was going off!
Kev was either weighing fish in a huge sling, T-baring smaller ones off over the side or chopping up mackerel and re-baiting for us. It was crazy. There was eel slime everywhere and big smiles on faces all around the boat. We were certainly getting plenty of fish, the bigger ones were pushing 50lb’s in weight and giving a very good account of themselves. It was turning into quite the day.
I was having a great time watching the other guys wrestle with their eels and getting some super photos in the process. After a few hours though, the temptation got too much and I decided to drop a bait down for myself. Typically, the action was just starting to slow and although I got a few bites and dropped a couple of eels I never actually got my hands on one.
Eventually, the tide slackened right off so we pulled the anchor and headed for home. The journey back flew by as we all laughed and talked about the days antics. We totted up the eels caught and reckoned we’d had about 60 between us to a best of 54 lb. Not bad at all.
The discussion soon turned to plans for the following day and we had to make a decision. Kev reckoned if we returned to the same wreck then we would have given the smaller eels toothache and stand a good chance of getting through to the bigger specimens. The only problem was that the wind was set to increase in the morning which meant it might be impossible to keep the anchor in place that far offshore.
Alternatively, we could try another wreck 20 miles closer in where fishing would be 100% possible, but we’d probably have to work through the smaller eels again. It didn’t take long for a unanimous decision to be made; we all opted to take a punt on the same wreck for the chance of bigger eels. If we couldn’t anchor and lost a bit of time coming back in to another wreck then so be it. It had to be worth a shot.
The next day was a little more lively at sea, that was quite noticeable. Thankfully the anchor held for us and we were able to fish effectively. The eels were much quicker on to the baits this time and the average sizes were definitely up, which was encouraging to see. I had left the camera to one side and was concentrating on finding myself a few eels instead.
I had a few smaller fish but nothing worth hauling on to the deck for weighing. Once again, there were scenes of total conger carnage going on all around me as rods bent double under the strain. We also had a few nice Ling come over the side, one in particular that was pushing 30lbs.
Although I was getting a few nice eels, the bigger ones seemed to be avoiding my baits. Of course, it’s a numbers game when there’s a group of experienced anglers all fishing from a boat together like this. I just kept on rebaiting and switching up my baits every 15 minutes, knowing that all I needed was one good bite from one good fish to change everything. Persistence paid off in the end and I eventually got my chance.
There was some indication at my rod tip and I wound down hard into a typically delicate conger bite. The 50lb class Penn Tuna Stick I was using then took on an alarming curve as a big eel tried its best to get back to the wreck. I wasn’t having any of it though and cranked like crazy to get it up and away from the ironwork. Eventually, the pressure of the heavy tackle wore the eel down and I slowly started to win the battle. There were a couple of crash dives as it saw the light but the fish was soon spinning on the surface ready to be brought onboard. It was a beauty, certainly a new personal best and worthy of hoisting up on the scales.
Kev and I wrestled the eel into the sling and raised it up. It’s always hard to weigh fish accurately on a boat with the motion of the ocean, but I settled on a weight of 58lb as an average from the wildly swinging needle. This eel was pretty much twice the size of any I've ever caught in the past so I was made up. It was also the biggest boated during our two days out. What an experience it had been! I was going home happy.
In total, we’d had about 130 Congers over our two days fishing. It was a great couple of days on a great boat with a top skipper; what’s not to like? PB’s were smashed, friendships were formed and we all had tales to tell when we got home. Conger fishing may not be fashionable these days, but sometimes the best things in life aren’t......who wants to follow the crowd anyway?
If you fancy fishing with Kev Mckie on ‘Size Matters’ then give him a call on 07999 628511 or check out www.mckiesfishingcharters.co.uk - you won’t regret it!
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