Common names
Pencil eel, Yellow eel, Black eel, Silver eel, Boston eel, Atlantic eel, Common eel
American eel
Anguilla rostrata
- Mixed
- Endangered
Max length59.75 in
Common length48 in
Length typeTotal Length
Max weight15 lb 7 oz
Depth range0 - 1522 ft
Max age43 years
Water typeMixed
Water temperature39 - 77 °F
Fish info
IUCN Vulnerability status
Short description
The body is extremely elongated (snakelike), with a very long dorsal fin that is confluent with the anal fin. Pelvic fins are absent and tiny scales are embedded in the skin giving eels a smooth feel. The scales are not arranged in overlapping rows as they often are in other fish species but are rather irregular. The adult color is yellow-brown with a pale underbelly. It is a distinct species with no known subspecies. The head is long and conical, with rather small, well-developed eyes. The mouth is terminal with jaws that are not particularly elongated. The teeth are small, pectinate, or setiform in several series on the jaws and the vomer. Nostrils are superior and well separated.
Habitat
Eels are bottom dwellers, they hide in burrows, tubes, snags, masses of plants, and other types of shelters. They are found in a variety of habitats including streams, rivers, and muddy or silt-bottomed lakes during their freshwater stage, as well as oceanic waters, coastal bays, and estuaries.
Distribution
Their natural range includes the eastern North Atlantic Ocean coastline from Venezuela to Greenland and including Iceland. Inland, this species extends into the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River and its tributaries as far upstream as Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Behaviour
Spawning is still not well understood but fascinating. The adults migrate to the ocean during autumn. During the long trek, the fish metamorphose into a "silver eel" stage and stop eating. The fish head to a location near the Sargasso Sea where they spawn en masse and apparently die. American eels are opportunistic feeders, which means they eat whatever food is available to them. They are considered carnivorous and eat a variety of food, including fish, frogs, insects, and dead organisms.
Edibility
This is a gourmet fish in the Asian markets and is often used in Sushi. It tends to be bony by American standards but is good smoked.
Lure suggestion
Good bait: nightcrawlers, maggots, minnows, insect larvae, herring, and shiners. They also bite on chicken liver, dead fish, and cut bait.