How to fish live eels with NY Surf Fishing Guide Bill Wetzel

Bill Wetzel shows you how to fish with live eels for striped bass, from rigging, storing, carrying and casting .
Visit Bill's website at www.surfratsball.com for great tips, honest reviews and Bill's personal fishing log every time he goes fishing. Which is just about every day!

[@TedStrzalkowski]

No Bullshit Bill. That's what I'll call him. One of the better vids I've seen in a long time.

[@montanatatum938]

When he said “I have a live well in the truck” with the hood open I thought it was next to the engine lol.

[@niravpandya5567]

This man is a poet.

[@Jack_The_Biker]

Excellent video. Gave me enough information and confidence to go out and really dig into surf fishing.

[@dbro1]

"It's a frikking swimmin eel swimmin around in the ocean!"

[@seymourlebowitz7802]

Excellent presentation... The video motivated me so much that i'm leaving right now and going surf fishing...

[@hugoforest3946]

I guess im asking randomly but does any of you know of a way to log back into an instagram account? I was dumb lost my password. I would appreciate any tips you can give me.

[@jaxxonernesto773]

@Hugo Forest instablaster :)

[@hugoforest3946]

@Jaxxon Ernesto I really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and Im waiting for the hacking stuff atm. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will reply here later with my results.

[@hugoforest3946]

@Jaxxon Ernesto It worked and I finally got access to my account again. I am so happy! Thanks so much you saved my ass!

[@jaxxonernesto773]

@Hugo Forest you are welcome :D

[@ghostwriter1869]

This is a very old vid but it's still relevant. I grew up I the '70s-'80s not a bunch of fishing technology but we caught fish. This is old school keep it short and simple after the braid and it works!! Thanks for validating my position!!!

[@Bsprecksfishing]

love that truck setup

[@tmccull98]

Thanks Bill, this is how you teach people, you gotta do it right!

[@MrXinsizionx]

Does he throw eels with that pink rod? Must be hard to get a solid hook set. Lol great video!

[@jobannycruz9803]

Great vid Bill!

[@anthonylawlor9130]

Great teacher......thanks for sharing

[@michissa105]

Fantastic video

[@joebuckhoff]

Start to finish your video is 20x more helpful than the rest! You are my new hero, Master Sense... I moved to Plymouth from AZ. Lol I always give my minnows / shiners a lucky pass too. You have my subscription!

[@Jon626]

"Kick some sand on his head!" Bill you are awesome!

[@lafonzoross6929]

Great video.

[@skippomicter3568]

this guy cracks me up. Good vid bud.

[@ia2835]

Same 😂

[@IronChefBklyn]

If you want good common sense, ask a good common man - thanks Bill, you are fun to watch, I might have to get the hell out of Brooklyn and rekindle my love affair with beach fishing!

[@jamesbrown3965]

GREAT INFO !!

[@rmp608]

BILL......YOU DA MAN!!!!!!

[@schymark7196]

yeah very helpful. this guy seems to know his shit. not just catching but the whole thing from the beginning. thanx

[@babaki1]

i love this guy. i wanna have coffee with him

[@robertkeville6230]

The best video ever!!

[@tolpacourt]

I learned a lot. Never knew that people cast and retrieve eels as if they were plugs.

[@yvngsn0w]

This dude is the man

[@tphvictims5101]

thank you

[@Darrytheprince]

Didn't realize how southern my accent was until I watched this lol

[@heyjoejp]

Invaluable

[@catchinglarge8192]

No manzy pansie casts. good advice.

[@AlanHowellphotovideo]

This guy is fun to watch but damn he's manic lol. Total over the top type-A rant the entire vid lol. I know that's simply the Northern style but I'm sure half the people watching this vid feel like their getting yelled at on how to fish, and that sucks. It's fishing, not war lol. But he's totally spot on with just going minimalist on the leader rig and his wade setup. No reason to add extra break points or anything else in shallow surf. As he stated, a bucket attached to your hip is a complete nightmare and likely a good way to drown. While your hook choice is a personal preference, here in NC and VA we mostly use circle and/or octopus hooks largely because it doesn't require that huge smash hook set as he shows here with the J style Mustad. This is a crucial key, trust me on this. Seriously, half the break offs people get is from that monster hook set using the J hook, (especially around rock jetties)...so circles greatly minimize a leading way people break off big fish in more ways than one. Also, while it's true a big barb will help the eel stay on, there are plenty of circles with ample barbs. I really like the Mustad UltraPoint Demon Perfect Offset Circle 2X Strong Hook with Kirbed Point, but the Gamakatsus are excellent too. I've found that with Mustad, you may want to size up one from your usual size, and if you go 2X or 3X heavy you'll get a slightly bigger barb. The 2X seems to be a good balance between thinner yet stronger wire and a decent barb. (The 3X is great for sharking BTW). However, with any hook, the key to bait and fish retention is simply maintaining solid line tension from the moment you start your cast to the time the fish is landed. Many here swear by a basic octopus style (that's a not a circle style) hook for live bait. But in my opinion, the corner mouth hookset from the circle sure does make life easier, especially for that over the slot brood hog you just safely released. So unless that fish has learned to swim perfectly backwards from your circle hook, you'll find you'll hook up better with them and cause FAR less internal damage to the released fish. With circles you simply let him run a bit, and as he tightens the line you simply and firmly lift the rod up and to the side. Never whip it as it can put just enough slack in the line to break you off. The key is consistent tension...always tension on the line and never let up. Once he's stuck, you can pop him a little for insurance but usually, that circle hook is right in the corner of the mouth with the line running over the side of his head...instead of over his rough teeth plate as with a J hook. So, for the curious, now a word on using treble hooks for eels and stripers. Don't. Despite being called 'sand eels', while sand can help you grip the eel, DRY sand will cut up their gills and overly bleed them if they can't flush it out. So, yeah you can sand them up, but it's best to simply sand up your damp hand instead of dumping it on them where it can enter or clog the gill plate or mouth. Better still, using an old rough towel (not a brillo) can help keep them much more lively in the water. One thing is for sure, while a chunker mullet is good....big eels consistently = big stripers here in winter. Best bait hands down.

[@syfigirl]

My name is Matt, I have been fishing RI & Cape Cod for 35 years. I fish live eels 99 percent of the time, you are over kill on your methods. This is the way it's done. You take a 10 foot custom conventional w/ a pen squider with 30 pound mono with a 50lb shock leader 6/ O octopus a bucket of eels with a couple ice cubes and they will last all night. I cought many strippers over 50lbs that's the old school way good luck!

[@doughja4419]

Carol Tomaro yeah......OK

[@gethookedtv6780]

Carol on surf or canal?

[@kedaotuning]

Carol A NC local told me the eels go in shock when put on ice and they dont move i try it and it works

[@ianalbert7365]

First off nobody fishes a conventional setup in the montauk surf. The fine sand and saltwater is brutal on gear. Second montauk is very shallow. Most guys are wading out sometime 100 yards into the surf to stand on rocks. Nobody is carrying a bucket out there without losing it in the surf on the way out. Third the type of hook you use is a matter of preference. A lot of guys like a circle hook myself included. However in order for a circle hook to be effective the fish must run. It must pick up the bait and go swimming off with it setting itself. You cannot set a circle hook

[@fatihk.8896]

How do you like the Frozen combo???

[@edisontapia3262]

How long should ur rod be to fish in Montauk?

[@johnhoward7254]

Billy! :-)

[@vsonic86]

lol the best talk ever!!!

[@AndyOutdoorsChannel]

this was what i have been looking for for months and this was so helpful. Maybe next time it could be more in depth like best time of year to be used and weather wise and as well the most basic equipment that can be used if just starting out and those starting out dont want to break the bank. just a few ideas.

[@SurfcastersJournal]

we have part 2 about where and when that will appear as part of sjtv for sj subscribers

[@AndyOutdoorsChannel]

can you tell me the name of it if you do not mind please?

[@SurfcastersJournal]

Andrew Collins www.surfcastersjournal.com

[@xlandscaper]

I'd love to fish with this guy. Seems like the kinda guy that would have you cracking up all night

[@justthebassplayer]

are you from the north?

[@RobertCartier]

Bill. I love that wader belt.. Where can I get one :) --- I Love video -- thanks

[@xlandscaper]

It's a 2" scuba diving weight belt with a stainless buckle.

[@jessedominguez8952]

Great video...BUT THAT HAT IS PRICELESS!

[@Super032208]

sea wall RI :)

[@jimrossbawgawd6780]

This guy is a complete fucking legend

[@davejeon02]

What's with that little pink spincast setup? haha

[@prolite8892]

fucking brilliant. what a guy ha

[@johnraffaghelloii]

Dude I would fish with you any day.

[@CrazyAlbertoKnee]

Thanks

[@brianheidel4550]

FUCK !!! I thought he was going to *catch* eels.

[@xlandscaper]

I hook my eels through both eyes. Very rare I lose one on a cast

[@ThegamingmasterThegamingmaster]

by the way you got to many guides on that rod .I grew up fishing Montauk and us oldies use 4 guides .

[@saberfan4431]

I live in Long island how do I contact this dude I like his personality tryna nail a big Bass

[@SurfcastersJournal]

www.longislandsurffishing.com

[@jamessteinberger8413]

that guy is halarious

[@davidarruda659]

"YOU FEEL HIS WEIGHT, AND YA EH EH EH EH EH" :'p Bill is too much

[@cristianlopez613]

Lmao the eel had the time of it's life

[@flukekiller1882]

What's that pink rod for

[@SurfcastersJournal]

its his daughter's rod

[@BigMoneyJonah]

That poor bastard eel. Holy shit I’m crying.

[@billyfishessaltwater3502]

Savage

[@splendidbeastie691]

What size are your hooks?

[@skippomicter3568]

+Splendid Beastie he said mustad 8-0

[@brendanwoerner3352]

Just tried it tonight and just lost a huge fish due to not letting the fish eat the eel long enough to set the hook.

[@splendidbeastie691]

If I'm using octopus will it matter a lot?

[@516Spark]

How many beers you have before you make this video lol

[@steven-jellemeijer8412]

.... EEL ... Is conciderd price fish in the netherlands.... smoked eel cost like 35 dollar a kilo

[@eddieds312]

does eel meat taste like anything else? Chicken?

[@TralfazConstruction]

Tasty Wheat

[@smoothddd]

this guy is holywood material.

[@koreypaul2534]

great info! Although I always knock mine out cold. I was always taught that they were just as good dead as alive. 👍#fishRI

[@timebomb1979]

Korey paul i keep mine on ice, keeps them docile until they hit the water

[@MrChuckcg]

Circle hooks are much more environmentally better since there is little chance of gut hooking fish...

[@josephstulec8247]

If you disliked.. youre a snowflake. This guy is hilarious

[@beerus1]

I was not seen as a pass through the hook in the eel

[@gennerobootz6490]

He’s right you get all of these no it all fishermen that really have no idea what they are talking about lol

[@nickbartus2025]

Lol this entire video was a rant

[@ThegamingmasterThegamingmaster]

id like to know who taught you how to cast ? your not casting to your full potential

[@jdoum1096]

“ if you know how to do it they won’t go into the rocks!!!”...... I don’t know how to do it that’s why I’m watching this video.

[@palmeraz73]

Less talk more fishing

[@smoothddd]

shoving a hook threw an animals eyes when its alive and then throwing it like rugged doll is very moral thing to do , try to do this to a cat or a dog and people go crazy... gratz

[@southieal]

Maybe you shouldn't fish

[@mdavidson6523]

I will try it to a cat or a dog