Doo Doo Doo - C'mon and do the Conger!!!

[The Great Wallsendo]

Reet - last question before I go on my hols (the lass was up first and is still getting ready )

Has anyone caught Conger Eel on the north east wrecks? What kind of weight was it? and also what is the North east Record?

[KeithB]

I aint seen one caught, but I've heard tales of divers spotting them.

[Charlton]

a few have been caught off north east wrecks these where accidental catches my records show of conger of 17-12-0, 22-9-10 & 29-7-0. I know of a verified one of 45lb taken at the back of Coquet Island many years ago but i do not have full details. I also know of one of 60lb taken by a diver off Blyth.

[northeast1]

With the tactics alot of us use for ling over slack water, i am sure more would have turned up if they are in any great numbers on our coast.

As an example, 2 years ago we tried a wreck just off Port Patrick and with in the first 2 drifts 3 eel landed on the deck, Same tactics as i use off our coast.

[Falcone]

i caught a small one from shields pier during the NESA shore comp of 2003.

[davem2005]

Wow, I was going to ask the same question tonight and someone beet me to it.

I went to Hartlepool today for my Bass trip and the skipper did not turn up (dont know why and his phone is off so he may have lost it.) So i fished Hartlepool docks. First fish a strap conger!! in fact the only fish

This set me thinking about a conversation with Sam Harris a year or more ago about targeting wrecks in southern fashion for conger. It seems from the posts that they are around and I would disagree that ling tactics will catch them on the drift.

The ones I have caught have all been at anchor while skate fishing so it may not be the best comparison. But they take slowly and gently and this is something that is unlikely to happen on the drift except on rare occasions which judging by the numbers quoted is probably the case.

Cheers
Dave

[Charlton]

just a further bit of info, somewhere i have a study done many years ago at the intake at the power at Blyth, during the study at least two very large conger eels where seen and the workers who cleaned the intake stated they saw them quite regular. On another note, i dont know if anyone can remeber I think it was way back in 1963 there was a very bad winter, during that winter a lot of conger where washed up dead, especially along the Durham coastline, maybe the conger population on our wrecks is just starting to make a come back.

[mark]

Wow, I was going to ask the same question tonight and someone beet me to it.

I went to Hartlepool today for my Bass trip and the skipper did not turn up (dont know why and his phone is off so he may have lost it.) So i fished Hartlepool docks. First fish a strap conger!! in fact the only fish

This set me thinking about a conversation with Sam Harris a year or more ago about targeting wrecks in southern fashion for conger. It seems from the posts that they are around and I would disagree that ling tactics will catch them on the drift.

The ones I have caught have all been at anchor while skate fishing so it may not be the best comparison. But they take slowly and gently and this is something that is unlikely to happen on the drift except on rare occasions which judging by the numbers quoted is probably the case.

Cheers
Dave

ken Miles on diablo might be the guy to talk to. he's a diver thats runs a charter boat and reckons he knows where to find them, having seen them first hand

[davem2005]

just a further bit of info, somewhere i have a study done many years ago at the intake at the power at Blyth, during the study at least two very large conger eels where seen and the workers who cleaned the intake stated they saw them quite regular. On another note, i dont know if anyone can remeber I think it was way back in 1963 there was a very bad winter, during that winter a lot of conger where washed up dead, especially along the Durham coastline, maybe the conger population on our wrecks is just starting to make a come back.

Alan ,
My conversation with Sam was along the lines of the fact we have so many wrecks here and conger do get landed on the fish quay. The theory is that people dont target them specifically and therefore dont catch them.

I have been busy with other species but I will be having a go soon.

I am pretty sure that conger are a fast growing fish in comparison with elasmobrachs and therefore a comeback from 1963 should be well under way if that was the case.

I personally think part of the problem is the set in stone way of fishing used in this region. It works so why change it...but if you experiment you never know what you may catch in these changing times.

I seriosly wonder if the "blue skate" are still out there. Common in the seventies with a 40 year life span. Surely the commercials did not catch every single one? So if they happen to have left one breeding pair now is the time to have a go for them! but we wont catch them using what has become traditional tactics and the yachtsman who phoned me september last year to report a "fertiliser sack" swimming uptide may have just been seeing a blue skate.

Food for thought ...

Cheers
Dave

[Charlton]

I Dave
there is more out there than many anglers think, it is just a case of horses for courses. Most divers I have spoken to have nearly all seen conger on wrecks, but many of the conger landed on tyhe quay have been taken from open ground, if you ever see one you will notice a slight difference in colouring, they have a green tinge to them.