I caught my first ever 51 Wolf eel and boy was it ugly and mean. The things we learn when idly browsing fish and fishing sites on the internet. On May 16th while fishing for bottom fish in 70 feet of water just off Seal Rock, with a white split tail jig. They are not targeted by fishermen, but they are frequently caught in crab and fish traps.

(Editor: “Marsh Tacky” is an historic breed of horse, said to have been ridden by Francis Marion, the legendary “Swamp Fox” in battling the British in the American Revolution…. Currently, wolf-eel populations seem to be stable. Image from Marsh Tacky Carbon, a South Carolina company that makes high-tech carbon fiber gaffs, harpoons and other sport fishing gear. (Large morays, as large predators in reef areas, often carry Ciguatera toxin in their flesh and are risky to eat.) We would like to think this eel was returned to the sea to recover, but this may not be a catch-and-release crew. It can reach a length of 8 feet (2.5 m) and 64 pounds (29 kg) and is known to exhibit aggressiveness-more than a few divers have suffered nasty bites when they encroached on a big eel’s territory. Older ones are grey or a dark olive color. This particular wolf eel was younger, as it was orange with dark spots. It occasionally ranges as far north as Nova Scotia. These fishermen caught a Wolf Eel, which can grow up to 7 ft 10 inches in length and weigh up to 41 pounds, and showed everyone just how dangerous they can be. Gymnothorax funebris, the Green Moray, is found mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean south to Brazil. Here is an image spotted on a fishing web site that should give every marine aquarist pause: remember this when a cute little Green Moray Eel turns up for sale at your local fish store. A surprise catch for these Florida deckhands: a Green Moray Eel caught on rod and reel and brought aboard with gaffs.

Wolf eel caught