"Questions" > wrote in message =
...
> On Thu, 03 Feb 2005 21:42:49 GMT, "Michael"
> > wrote:
>=20
> >
> >"Musashi" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> >"Dan Logcher" > wrote in message
> ...
> >> Musashi wrote:
> >> I believe you do skin anago though. I've caught a few, and took =
one to a
> >> local sushi bar. The kitchen chef prepared it for me two ways, =
battered
> >and
> >> fried and grilled.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Dan
> >
> >I can't remember if anago is skinned. Certainly on sushi it is, but =
in
> >Tempura
> >I am not sure.
> >Anyway, where in the world did you catch Anago?
> >
> >Don't know where Dan got his but we used to catch it off docks on the =
NC and
> >SC coasts. Not brackish water but pure seawater so I assume it was =
anago.
> >
> I have accidentally caught eel in fresh water. Big ones, (3-4 feet in
> length). I caught them on a fish hook while fishing for fresh water
> bass.
>=20
> What methods are used to catch them if you are meaning to catch them?
> How would I know if they were safe to eat? What are the methods for
> cleaning them? I've cleaned rattlesnake and eaten it. Would it be the
> same?

I have also caught very large eels in freshwater while LM Bass fishing. =
They are often
the largest eels because they are all upriver females which get larger =
than the males that
tend to stay closer to sal****er.
Specifically targeting eels in the daytime would be putting any kind of =
bait especially cut
fish on the bottom where there are rocks. A location with a bit of a =
current, such as
above or below a dam is ideal. The same method works even better at =
night however then
you can expect to get catfish hitting your bait as well.
Eels are really hard to tell if they are "safe to eat" because firsty =
they are able to live in
low oxygen polluted waters that other game fish can't handle, and also =
they are capable
of traversing polluted water to get to someplace that isn't. Check your =
state Fish & Game
regulations for what bodies of water are designated "don't eat the =
fish".
Cleaning an eel is tough mostly because they are hard to handle due to =
their protective slime.
You'll also note that they live for hours without water, and to keep one =
alive and fresh you
bring it home with merely a wet rag or seaweed on top of it, never in =
water.
In Japan eels are dressed by nailing it's head into the cutting board =
(yes there is a specfic nail
device for this) then cutting down along the back alongside the =
backbone, then splitting it
as in butterflying. Remove the entrails and the bones, then the head. =
Cut into 2 or 3 pieces
for grilling. In the Tokyo area they cut from the stomach side whereas =
in the Osaka area they
curt from the back side. Something about reminding people about =
Hara-Kiri. Whatever.
I can't tell you if the menthod is the same for rattlesnake because I =
have never dressed one.
But I can tell you that an eel basically has an elongated fish bone =
structure, not like that
of a snake.

M