Ad blocker detected: Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker on our website.
How did you manage to take that picture? I remember catching one as a teenager, right where the Ottawa meets the Gatineau, in a little bay. I thought I was snagged. Surprise! What a fight. That thing squirmed like crazy. I just cut the line. I wasn't touching that thing. LOL!
I remember my grandfather catching them in Dalhousie Lake in the Lanark Highlands...last time I ever saw one was in '95. I am sure they are still there, just not as many.
Nice shot. What did you catch it with? How did you release it? (Carefully I am sure!)
Craig
got it on a floating jig and worm,it wrapped itself around the trolling motor shaft,quite fun,was happy for once that the cheap wire hook straightend out and she fell off.did not want that badboy in the boat!
got a 4 fooeter few years back..my biggest ever..but i was in the nation river in caselman.
caught a few in hull marina sector and 2 at victori island. smallers ones.
i hate there slimes....the big one i got on the nation river i did a mistake put it on the floor off my boat to onhook it..my boat had a rug..that slim is very very sticky and got that stuff for a long time on my rug after.. .
I am going into my third season camping at Sylvania Lodge on Dalhousie Lake. I have not heard of anyone catching an eel. If I do, I will certainly let you know. The last thing I need is to hook into one of those with my kids on board. I think my one son would jump overboard if that was squirming around the boat. LOL!
TLunge wrote:No I don't think so, the latest theories are unknown causes and a virus that has come here via asian eels and is harming our american eels.
Think about it! the dams were all up by the 50's so if they were the cause then eel populations would have crashed in the 60's or at least by the 70's and that is not the case there was large populations right up to the 90's
They are a very interesting fish worth reading up on, they used to find their way into almost all of our rivers and creeks, peoples farm ponds, waterbodies that are not even joined to the ocean, trout lakes etc.
The virus may be a factor but for the Ottawa river, the Carillon dam was opened in 1964 and since American Eels can spawn 10-25 years after living in the river, that close to the 90's decline. Lots of evidence that the dams chop em up in the turbines and inhibit their movement upstream. The dam on the st lawrence had a new ladder built a few years ago to fix this so maybe in a few years we'll see more eels in Lake O. Don't think there's any plans for a ladder at Carillon but maybe if they added one we'd see eels and american shad up near Ottawa.
I couldn't find a reference but the way I understand it is that the Carillon dam is considered a "leaky" dam and eels can find ways up around it but just not in numbers. I also think they can walk out of water for a small distance so that the trick to getting to unconnected ponds. Pretty amazing.
I caught one at the Lemieux Island Filtration plant about 5 years ago. Hard fight but scared the shellac out of me.
Ya my bad, Chats Falls dam was up in the 30's and Carrion in the late 50's. I have caught lots of young eels around downtown Ottawa in the 90's so they must be making it up past Carrilion. I think you are onto the "leaky dam" idea though. Strangely I have never heard of eel making it up the Gatineau into St Marie, Blue Sea, Picanoc, Cayamant etc. etc. Maybe the dams there wont let the eels through. It would be interesting to hear if they were up there historically!