Sand Eels

Sand Eels

This sand eel was foul hooked while jigging for striped bass with an AVA Diamond Jig. It was about 6 inches long, and pretty skinney.

Sand Eels and Striped Bass

The sand eel is a small, slender fish, also know as a Sea Lance. Sand Eels can often be found along the Northeast coast where there is a sandy bottom. In recent years large populations of sand eels have shown up along the LI and NJ coasts in the fall. They can be found throughout the water column, but more often near the bottom as they dig into, and hide in the sand. Sand eels are a favorite food of striped bass.

Sand eels are a delicate fish and are difficult to keep alive, so they are not usually used as a live bait. Dead or frozen sand eels are often used as a bait when drifting for fluke, but striped bass don't seem interested in frozen or dead sand eels.

Fortunately sand eels can be imitated rather effectively using narrow metal lures llke diamond jigs and sparsely tied teaser flies.

Follow this link to see about Diamond Jigs.

Needlefish Lures

Diamong Jigs work well when there is a sandy bottom and the chance of snagging and losing your lure is small. For rocky bottoms, a better lure may be the Needlefish, which also imitates a sand eel.

Follow this link to find out more about Needlefish Lures .

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