Eel: description of fish, types of eels, habitat, reproduction

The underwater world has always been distinguished by a variety of colors and shapes of living creatures that have managed to adapt to such unusual living conditions.

The eel represents one of the most unusual creatures. Distinguishing an eel from other representatives of the underwater world is not difficult at all, since it has an elongated body that looks like a snake.

The fish is also unique in that it spends most of its life in fresh water, but to spawn, the eel goes to the sea. This is a real mystery.

Eel: description

The eel has a rather long body, so many peoples do not eat it, because they do not consider it a fish. The body is cylindrical in shape, and the tail is more flattened on the sides. The eel’s head is rather small and slightly flattened. Experts share several types of acne, depending on the shape of the nose. The nose can be short, long, narrow or wide. The lower jaw of an eel is somewhat longer than the upper jaw, although each of them is studded with sharp but small teeth.

The eyes of this fish are not large, yellowish-silver hue. The operculum does not completely adhere to the surface of the body due to the fact that the openings themselves are quite narrow and significantly shifted from the occiput.

The dorsal fin, together with the caudal fin, form a single long fin. There are pectoral fins and they are well developed, but there are no pelvic fins.

If you just look at the eel, it seems completely naked, but if you remove the mucus and carefully examine it, you can see elongated scales that cover the entire surface of the body. The color of the eel can be different, depending on the habitat. The belly of an eel is distinguished by a yellow-white or bluish-gray tint.

Types of acne

The family of eels is not so numerous, therefore, it includes only a few species that practically do not differ from their relatives, but live in different places, therefore, 3 types of eels are distinguished:

1. river eel lives in the basins of many rivers and seas. It grows up to 1 meter in length and can weigh about 6 kg.
2. Marine eel differs somewhat in size compared to river eel. It can grow up to 3 meters in length and weigh about 100 kg. The sea eel has practically no scales.
3. Electric eel. It got its name from the fact that it is able to generate electric current. It grows in length up to 2,5 meters, with a weight of about 40 kg. Electricity is generated by a special body. Thanks to this feature, individuals protect themselves from enemies, and also use electricity to hunt small fish.

Habitat

The eel is considered a species that appeared on our Earth about 100 million years ago. The eel was first found in the ocean waters near Indonesia, but then it was noticed in the seas, rivers and lakes around the planet, which are considered to be their intermediate residence. The largest populations have been seen in the basins of some bodies of water, such as:

• Baltic Sea.
• Mediterranean Sea.
• White Sea.
• Sea of ​​Azov.
• Barents Sea.
• Black Sea.
• North Sea.

Being in any reservoir, the eel chooses for its life areas of reservoirs with a clay bottom covered with mud. In the summer, he likes to be in places overgrown with sedge and reeds. In the daytime, it prefers to be in shelter, and after dark it goes hunting.

This fish is also interesting because, if necessary, the eel is able to crawl over land from one reservoir to another, and for a considerable distance. As a rule, in this way it enters the lakes, in which there is always water. The eel has a special skin structure that allows it to absorb oxygen. Therefore, an eel can live for some time without water. Oddly enough, but the fish always chooses the right direction and does not wander in the grass, in search of a new habitat. At the same time, they can change the direction of movement if they encounter bare ground or sandy areas on their way.

While in the river, the eel prefers to stay in quiet but deep areas. When the water level rises significantly, it occurs even during the day in various pools.

Diet and behavior

Eel fish is a predatory fish whose diet includes objects of animal origin, such as:

• Worms.
• Little fish.
• Snails.
• Not big frogs.
• Caviar of other fish.
• Insect larvae.
• Shellfish.
• Triton’s.

In reservoirs where there are a lot of tench and pike, there are also a lot of eels, since small individuals of these fish are a favorite food for eels. When cyprinids spawn en masse, the eel eats their caviar with great pleasure.

The eel hunts only at night, while young individuals choose the coastal zone for this, and adults choose deep-sea areas located at a considerable distance from the coast. As a rule, adult specimens burrow to a depth of 1 meter.

Despite the complete darkness and poor eyesight, the eel accurately identifies a potential victim from a few meters away. At the same time, the eel, thanks to its excellent sense of smell, perfectly orients itself in complete darkness. They move quite slowly, especially in thickets of aquatic vegetation.

When the winter cold sets in, the eel falls into a state of suspended animation and in such conditions resembles snags sticking out from the bottom.

Breeding process

This process did not give rest to many scientists for a long period of time, and only in the XNUMXth century it was possible to solve this riddle. However, nothing significant, since scientists have proven that this process is the same as in the rest of the fish. The thing was that the eggs had a unique shape, so at first they were attributed to a completely different species.

Adult individuals reach sexual maturity only at 7-9 years of their life. By this period, the sexual characteristics of females and males begin to appear. Oddly enough, but spawning eels go to the sea and look for areas with depths of up to 400 meters and a water temperature of about 15 degrees. At the same time, they lay up to half a million eggs, shaped like miniature willow leaves, up to 1 mm in size. The eggs differ in that they are absolutely transparent.

The development of larvae occurs in several stages. For example:

1. After being born, they float to the surface of the sea and, under the influence of a warm current, move to the shores of the European continent. This period of development lasts about 3 years. At this stage, the larvae develop rather slowly.
2. The next stage begins from the moment the larva reaches a size of 7 cm. The larva decreases by 1 cm and the stage of glass eel formation occurs.
3. During this period, their body begins to lengthen, but still has a transparent appearance.
4. In this state, small fish appear in the mouths of rivers. After they start to move upstream, the fish begin to acquire the color of adults.

After reaching the age of 12, the eel returns to the sea again to lay eggs. After spawning, the fish dies.

The electric eel also spawns in a unique way. This representative of the underwater world has not yet been properly studied. According to observations, it is known that fish spawn at considerable depths and rise from the depths as fully mature individuals that are able to generate electricity.

Fishing methods

Since river eel is a predatory fish, the bait must be appropriate. As a rule, to catch it, you will need objects of animal origin, such as worms, pieces of meat, as well as small fish. When using worms, it is better to give preference to large worms and put them on the hook one at a time. Small worms are also suitable, but you need to plant them in several pieces.

Good results can be obtained when using live bait, and from the same reservoir as the object of fishing.

As live bait you can use:

• Roach.
• Rudd.
• The underdog.
• bleak.

The size of the fish is about 4 cm, although you can use a dead fish.

For the best performance, it is better to feed the fishing spot a few days before fishing. For this, chopped worms and small fragments of fish are used. On the day of catching eel, it is better not to feed the fish.

The most favorable period for eel fishing starts from mid-May and lasts until early June. This is due to the fact that the fish during the hibernation period is very hungry and is ready to swallow any bait. With the advent of summer, and even more so autumn, you will have to give preference to a rather weighty nozzle – meat or small fish. The most productive fishing will be at night, and especially in bad weather with a strong thunderstorm.

The experience of a fisherman is just as important as knowledge. When fishing is carried out on a worm, it is better to cut at the moment of the first bite, and if fishing is carried out on fish fragments, then hooking should be done at the moment of the second bite. The fact is that after the first bite, the eel swims to the side to turn its prey over in its mouth, and only after that does it swallow it.

It is not so easy to pull out an eel that has been hooked, because it is a dexterous and dodgy fish. She will offer serious resistance, clinging to branches or snags that are under water. In addition, it will not be possible to take her by hand, and one should not count on her capture without a net. The eel is quite slippery, so even with a net there are problems pulling it out of the water. When the eel is to be taken off the hook, care must be taken that it does not slip out. If this happens, it is unlikely to catch him, and he will quickly be back in the water.

In general, holding an eel in your hands is a real problem, since the fish is abundantly covered with mucus. Killing him is just as problematic, except to break his spine.

The meat of the European eel is valued for its palatability, as it is tasty and soft. This is a fish from which various dishes are prepared. In some countries, smoked eel is considered a real delicacy and almost a national product and is served as a main dish.

In conclusion

Fishing for river eel is such an exciting activity that ordinary fishing cannot be compared in any way. First, you need to find a place where the eel is found, and this is not so easy. Secondly, you need special equipment. Many anglers use needles instead of hooks as they are more efficient. Yes, and it is necessary to throw the bait as close as possible to the point where the eel is hiding. The eel is not just lying somewhere in snags or in aquatic vegetation, but is in a hole and you need to have patience to wait until it leaves its shelter.

Eel is really a unique fish in all respects, including taste. This fish can be fried, baked, marinated, dried or smoked. It is delicious in any form, but it is not so easy to catch it, especially if you do not have such skills.