Read an article about the stripers in the NE going crazy over live eels. Cabelas has an artifical eel that looks pretty good. Has anyone ever tried these in freshwater and if so where do you get them?

Don't waste your money. A piece of surgical tubing the same color with three single hooks strung along it would serve the same purpose.

Do they work?

I don't know - never tried them. They aren't native to this area like they are in the NE....

Redfin I haven't heard of anyone around here using them. Maybe its that something different and new that will killem.

I reckon it could. You might catch a big bass thinking it's a snake. But I'll stick with the stuff that looks familiar to them.

I tried some J-Plugs on striper and redfish here that I used when salmon fishing and all I caught was a sunburn.

i got one...in one of my old tackle boxes. The one i bought i think it was made by storm lures. I didn't work when i tried it, but i didn't use it very long cause i didn't like seeing my friends catching all the fish while i was trying something "new".

I used them often when I lived in NYC and fished the Long Island Sound and jersey Shore for strippers. They worked great,but keep in mind this was salt water fishing. I would bet they would work here also.

I think it would be interesting to use it while trolling other baits. Swimbaits for LMB were popular for years in the west but have just in the last few years become popular in Texas.

I've Often wondered this myself.

I would try anything if it worked! We even tried gold fish one time. Made me feel bad going to pet story and they thought we were buying pets only to use them as bait

THEY WORK IN LAKE TEXOMA!

I was wondering when someone would bring this up. I didn't know that it would at first, but when I was jigging for striper in Texoma I accidentally snagged an eel! Yes an EEL! I didn't even know they were in the lake, but they are. I tied it on and threw it way out on like a texas rig and accually caught a striper.
I knew eels were a hot bait northeast for striper, but I didn't know if it would work here. That was until I found out there are are eels in Lake Texoma. I wonder how they got there...

I was up in Long Island a couple years back and went fishing with some sales reps. They were using EELs. They would soak them in buckets of ice water before hooking up. It would get them lethargic. Otherwise as soon as you put them on a hook they'd curl up around it and you couldn't hook a fish. I thought they were a waste. You're better off with gizzard shad.

eels are the nastiest live bait on the planet. I didn't even know we had 'em in tx, but they're a striper staple on the east coast........

If the waterbody that you are fishing for stripers has eels in it,then i would bet they will work.I don't know too much about what bodies of water have eels here in TX.We used to always use them in the bays and inlets in the northeast.4"-12" eels are awesome bait,probably my 2nd favorite to use for stripers behind sassy shads on an umbrella rig.

They love eels..and everything else that wriggles..but eat more shad.

It is an interesting question, but more interesting is the life of the eel. To even come by one in an impoundment is pretty lucky.
Texas Freshwater Eels

My buddy can ship them from massachusetts this time of year..if anyone is interested...we use them on cobia in the early spring in Fl...one of the best baits.. and you can use one eel all day.

You aint kidding Brian! Nearly impossible to hold them, slicker than snot! When someone developed super glue, I think they based it on eel slime. When this stuff dries on your hairy arm, you might as well shave your arm to get it off. Very difficult to wash off. When you hook one throught the head, they go ballistic (hey, I would too...). If you dont beat them half to death against a rock or tree, they tie themselves and your line in an impossible snot knot. Someone mentioned using them all day and they are right. They are like leather. Nothing can munch on them and on the coast, you either get a striper or a shark to pick them up.