Fishing a Private River for HUGE Endangered Fish... 😯 

Haha thanks mate, definitely not an easy time to be a fishing youtuber!

Thanks for the kind words mate! Yeah fishing can be really tough this time of year don’t let it put you off 👍

Thanks mate, good idea it’s probably time I did! I’ve seen a few heated jackets on the internet recently, do they work well?

@@adventurefishinguk they do mate. Myself and my wife both have them. Amazon have loads.

Haha well I’d love to get my hands on an eel! Could well be one of those fish I only have ant to catch once then I won’t fancy it anymore 😂 and yes we are all good thanks hope you are too!

Thanks for the advice mate!

Unfortunately I’m not able to say exactly where it is but I’ve fished it a couple of times before, you might have seen the videos!

Thanks for watching mate!

Really enjoy your vids mate. Cheers @@adventurefishinguk

Critically endangered if I’m not mistaken, so very rare and getting rarer! There will be some places with plenty in though

Population is estimated to have dropped by 90%. Used to catch them all the time but not had one for at least 10 years.

@snowstormerz9926 numbers reduced by ‘humans’ eating the elvers. Massive impact on returning numbers.

Yeah there aren’t as many in the canal these days, I’ve seen a few swimming around though!

Thanks for the advice I’ll have to give that a go next time!

Thanks mate! It’s only driven on private land 👍

I'd add that they tend to swallow the hook, so barbless might be a good call. Next time I deadbait, though, I'm going to work out some form of hair rig, so it doesn't go too deep. They take the bait fairly slow, so the bite sometimes registers after the bait is swallowed.

Thanks for the advice mate, much appreciated! Hopefully I’ll get one later in the year 👍

@@adventurefishinguk I tend to make sure my deadbait leaks a bit, too. That grayling you had was a lump!

Thanks mate, was a very tough day but made all worthwhile with that one!

Yeah I thought that could be the case, hoped I could get one out on the off chance. I’ll have to have another go in summer 👍

Hopefully I can get one for myself this year somehow!

To tick off the bucket list, plenty of people fish for eels! Might not be legal where you’re from but it is here 👍

Stay in touch! I’m hoping to have a road trip over there at some point over the next few years

@@adventurefishinguk you bet. I’m from Pennsylvania where there is great fly fishing but, Now live in New Mexico and there is some good fishing here but I head to Colorado and Utah a lot. Some prime streams up there. Here in New Mexico we have coveted Rio Grande cuts and Gila (Hila) cuts. Not very big up to 14-17 inches. Of course plenty of rainbows, browns and brookies. First class river in New Mexico is the San Juan and the Brasos - Utah has the green river below flaming gorge, blacks smith fork and several others - Colorado - Conejos, crested butte area and several more. Idaho but haven’t been in many years - Maddison river below quake lake, yellow stone river, head waters of the Missouri River but favorite there are the Henry River and the Teton river. Can talk all day about this so definitely stay in touch.

Thanks for the advice mate I’ll have to give that a go when the weather warms up a bit!

@@adventurefishinguk it’s ok mate hope they work for you as good as they do for me

Haha I’ve never had to deal with unhooking one before but I’ve heard it can be a bit of a nightmare! Thanks for watching!

Everyone I have caught was so deep hooked I never managed to get a hook back out of 1

Haha yes you did, they really will do anything for a tip these days 😂

Maybe I’ll have to try Windermere, could be a bit of a needle in a haystack type situation though!

We used to fish in the spot where you did a video catching a pike near the steamer moorings, night was best we used lobworm mainly

Thanks for the advice mate I’ll have to give it a go!

Thanks mate, I don't have much choice in the matter!

Ragworm seem to be the best bait for European eel, squid and bacon wrap for congers

Thanks for the advice! I’ve had a couple of congers in my time, never a freshwater European eel though!

Thanks for the advice I’ll definitely go with a more worm based approach next time! Thanks for watching

Wow I’d love to get a fish like that!

Thanks for the advice I’ll have to give that a go next time!

They really intrigue me too, hopefully one day!

That’s really cool to hear, I bet there are still some huge specimen eels in the UK, probably living in some very unusual places. Thanks for watching and for taking the time to comment!

If you don't want to use swan mussels normal sea ones are just as good and big rudd and roach love Cockell.

@@tonycamplin8607 there is nothing new under the sun in angling - I started in the mid 1960's and cockle was an unusual but well-known bait then. I am sure that it makes no difference at all, but everyone used to soak them in a small amount of milk, usually suggesting that it removed the salt, which makes no sense. Somewhere, I have the specimen trophy for the eel, from CAPS (Colchester club) - I must check as I may be a pound out on the weight - thinking about it more, I think it was 5lb 13oz. It was large, for sure, and caught around the middle of the day (lots of eel fanatics reckon evening and early morning are by far the best times). There were always stories of giant eels, some more believable than others. The most believable were perhaps those about Abberton Reservoir. Before the troubles in NI, you could get day tickets to fish at various points around the whole reservoir, especially the pumping stations - some of the culverts supposedly held giant eels that you could often see. (As built, Abberton Reservoir was not at all angler-friendly as the entire perimeter below the Layer-de-la-Haye causeway was faced with concrete blocks at far too steep an angle to be safe to walk on.

@birdie1585 As you say nothings new. I'm obviously quite a bit older than you! Our farm was on the Pevensey levels and back then, in the early 1950s eels up to 1lb ware a real nuisance and they existed in plague numbers. However back then we caught them for food, mainly in traps so it didn't really matter. How times have changed especially in the last 20 or so years. I now live in the Cambridgeshire fens a very similar area. Thanks for your interesting reply.

@@tonycamplin8607 I think that bootlaces were everywhere until at least the 1980's. Certainly back then where I was, they were not allowed at match weigh-ins. I ate a few but our club had a Londoner who would collect any of any size, that anyone caught - a very rotund gentleman called Cyril Johnson. He must have eaten a huge number over the years. If you don't know it, have a search for the film, posted on RU-vid, of one of the last Fenmen, around 1955-60, who made a living from working the water-meadows, marshes, rivers and drains, including eel-trapping. He lived in a cottage not far from what is now the WWT Welney centre. Another one here shows Tom Williams, catching eels on his beat on one of the southern trout streams. He wrote frequently for Angling Times back in the day.

It is rare to catch eels in winter, but they do occasionally feed. In Kevin Maddocks' book 'Carp and Catfish' (mid 1980s) he has a chapter about winter fishing for carp at the famous Redmire Pool. He kept getting dropped runs on boilies after dark and began to suspect eels (as the pool only contained carp, gudgeon and eels). He eventually landed a big eel.

@@portcullis5622 Oh, okay, I didn't know that. I'm based on my own experiences. Thanks for this information.

@@ecklestone8736 I have to admit that after four decades of winter fishing on English rivers, I have never caught, or seen, an eel after early October.

@@portcullis5622 My experience is that when temperatures drop below 10 degrees it becomes increasingly difficult to catch eels. We used to catch a lot of eels in the summer was warm and sultry. And then only in the late evening or night. For bait we used fat worms or a dead baitfish.

Thanks for watching from Holland much appreciated! Yeah I don’t know too much about eels, just thought I’d roll the dice and see what happens. Very happy with the grayling though!

Thanks for the advice mate! I’ll take it on board and try again in summer I think 👍

A beauty of a grayling wasn’t it!

Yeah someone else mentioned that, thanks for the advice I’ll have to try it!

Great idea thank you i'll have to try the back bacon out!

Thanks for the advice, I’ll have to have another go in summer with some bigger baits!

@@adventurefishinguk It might well be worth it if you don't get an eel maybe a big pike! By the way because of their sharp teeth I always used to use a wire trace for eel fishing Good luck

Thanks mate, very cold day out that's for sure. Was struggling with the fishing but that one made it all worthwhile!

Great shout, would roach work? Or do you mean smaller like minnows?

@@adventurefishinguk any dead baits buddy fish small but think pike

Thanks for watching! Unfortunately I don’t know many fishing spots around that area 👍

Haha well i don't get called a southerner very often! Thanks for the info i never knew it was illegal in scotland

Thanks for the advice mate maybe I’ll have to try the ribble in summer!

Haha that sounds like a good tip, I’ve never had the pleasure of trying to untangle/unhook one before unfortunately!

Thank you, I’m sure I will. Could take me a while though!

I think the river Kent is all method in the town centre. It would be wise to pop into the fishing shop in Kendal and have a chat with Neil he will know all about the coarse fishing! Lure fishing for perch is good around the jetties on Windermere 👍

Hi George - thanks for the info -also really enjoyed the recent salmon vid :) @@adventurefishinguk

Hi George - thanks - are you able to fish from all the Jetties? Brockholes etc- trying to ensure that we are not on a mad "goose" hunt when I have wife and dog in tow - @@adventurefishinguk

Thanks for watching mate, yeah i've heard a few people now who have had eels on the ribble. I'll have to have a go!

Thanks for watching!

That sounds very useful, is it like an extra layer between the foot and the ground?

@@adventurefishinguk its an additional insole, a bit like the handwarmers you can buy but for shoes and boots👍🏻 theyre single use but for £2 totally worth it

Thanks for the advice I’ll have to have another go in summer!

Thanks for the advice I’ll have to try next time at night in summer I think!

Haha thanks mate, yeah the uber wasn't cheap but worth every penny for the 5 star ride

Haha your some man content is class come to Scotland I want to fish with you haha

@@alexandermcgowan4125 Do you know of any abandoned or private places we could fish? Anywhere really cool with a storyline?

Thanks for watching mate, glad you're enjoying them! I hope i get one too 👍

Thanks mate! Yeah it’s a really tough time of year isn’t it 👍

😂

I’ll have a watch thanks for the advice! Are prawns good for perch?

​@@adventurefishingukThey are indeed, second best bait after worms in my experience. 👍

Thank you! I’ll have to do some research and check it out. Thanks for the pointer!

Thanks mate! What are muck boots? I don’t think I’ve heard of those before

I was expecting a doughnut too 😂

Haha unfortunately not, wouldn’t want to chew up the field! It was great fun, very different from what I’m used to too!

Thanks mate! I’ve never caught one, apparently they’re slimy and a nightmare to unhook. I want to at least once though! Thanks for watching from over the pond

...Now you try for a Muskie, a rather nasty fish. In Wisconsin they are a prized catch, a real brute. Have a great week my friend...

Haha thank you, I felt cold filming it!

Thanks cool, what were you driving over the bridge or something?

@@adventurefishinguk yes over the bridge, I pass at 5.15 am then again about 15.50 I look every day and think it’s a cracking looking Stretch. I’ve never done much river fishing but getting the urge after your videos

They are in the UK 👍

Thanks mate, one of my favourite ways to fish in Winter 👍

Incredible fish aren't they!

Thanks for watching Mick, I'll get it one day!

The NZ trout are serious fish, and those eels are something else. Out in the sea, though, the Kingies gave me a serious reality check!

I’d love to come fishing in New Zealand. Bit of a shame it’s about as far away as somewhere can be but it looks like the fishing is fantastic!

@@adventurefishinguk maybe someone will sponsor you?

Good advice I’ll look into it!

Thanks mate, was over the moon with it!

Steady on, I’m the first to admit I’m no expert when it comes to this kind of thing. And yes, eels are an endangered species

Thanks for watching mate!

It certainly is, thanks for watching!

Haha good! It’s always nice to see a robin 👍

Haha no that’s news to me, I thought they just became significantly less active. There are accounts of them being caught all year round but definitely a lot more in summer!

No one cares

Fishing rights that come with owning surrounding land can be private though 👍