I've never intentionally fished for eels, except when I was a kid when half a bleak chucked into the nearest weedbed would guarantee 1 or 3, but so far this season, I can't seem to avoid them (Dorset Stour and Hants Avon).  Dicky's latest article about the flood ravaged Severn also tells similar tales.

Are they making a comeback or we just "blessed" with them down south?

Most of the ones I've caught have been around 1.5lb to 2lb but I had one giant at 4lb 13oz - all of which must be many years old(?).  I even suceeded in calming it down by lying it on its back and unhooking it very easily!

One of these delightful creatures denied me a certain double figure barbel yesterday.  After much preparation I finally had a barbel inching its way forward toward the bait when an eel literally swam under and in front of it, snapped up the offering and , as the saying goes, "the rest is history"!

I used to catch them all the time from the canal through Worcester, small 6 to 12 inch ones that tie themselves around you line and cover everything in slime.

I've not had a single one since moving back to Derby a few years ago now. I fished the Trent and now the Derwent and often use worms or meat without a sniff of a 'grinner'.

Fishing with Dicky the other weekend on the Severn in his 'cross country marathon swim' he debated using a worm for five minutes or so after the bites to pellet or boilies had dried up, he decided to risk it; result? - two eels on the trot within a minute of each cast.

Neil,

Around 5 years ago eels had all but vanished on the Stour; they had been heavily trapped to the point of it no longer being worthwhile for the trapper. Quite when he stopped I don't know but there is a revival not that I seem to catch any; none last year, only 2 the year before. We are still a long way short of the old days like on the Frome where I would target them in matches getting up to 25 in a match. No aware of a comeback on the upper Stour either yet.

Maybe all that fish oil from the halibut pellets has drawn them up from the harbour! 

There's no doubt there are far fewer than used to be, I also remember specifically targetting them in matches back in the 1970/80's.

But so far I've had about a dozen, mostly on halibut pellet, some on Source boilie and one on rolling meat!  I've also watched a number of individual eels mop up a bed of pellets &/or hemp alongside some nice chub (as well as the barbel mentioned above).

They are there in bigger numbers than I imagined they would be but I guess I'm just good at catching them!