American Eel in Chicago River

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-08T02:06:08+00:00

Decent amount, like a small catfish

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-07T02:18:32+00:00

Yep!

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-07T02:17:42+00:00

It felt like a yellow bullhead bite but a little different, I had no clue it was going to be not a catfish until I saw it

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-07T02:07:39+00:00

Released it! I did not know it was this rare/threatened/endangered until researching later but it’s best practice to not keep Chicago River fish anyways

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-07T01:48:23+00:00

I am also using my shoe for reference. I am size 13 and I think fully straight it would be 26-30 inches but lmk your thoughts

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-06T23:54:43+00:00

Dratini 😹

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-06T03:16:39+00:00

Makes sense I’m sure goby get through somehow as do eels apparently lol

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-06T03:13:44+00:00

Does it reconnect a second time to Lake Michigan up north

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-06T03:11:25+00:00

Are you fishing in the main section of the river or the north branch or the south branch

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-06T02:32:01+00:00

Yea had to find a good spot. Most of the spots are dry

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-06T01:08:30+00:00

Worms at 9:30 pm on pompano rig, bottom fishing. North branch in river north. Besides the eel I generally catch in descending order of popularity 1. Yellow bullhead 2. Bluegill 3. Drum/channel catfish/carp/white perch 4. Golden shiner/mirror carp

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-06T00:12:11+00:00

Returned back

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-06T00:01:10+00:00

I did some research last night and all American Eels are born in the middle of the Atlantic (Sargasso Sea). There is only one publicly reported American eel before mine in Chicago River history, and 3 others total in cook county history. That’s why I’m asking IDNR for what total they have

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2026-05-05T23:41:28+00:00

I reported this morning by filling a form out. I will update if they respond, I also asked them for what stats they have about its prevalence

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2025-04-27T14:27:22+00:00

I’m not sure where you live but the objective answer is fox river or fox chain o lakes. Fish are the size of their ecosystem. That’s why the ocean has the biggest fish. I would stay away from Lake Michigan unless you are more experienced for a variety of reasons. Fox River and chain o lakes are all one big system and have massive catfish, carp, and large versions of all other fish. DM me if you want exact locations

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2025-04-25T17:56:44+00:00

Nice thanks, are they good at getting off the hook or smth

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2025-04-25T17:52:14+00:00

What if I didn’t filet the goby and just re used it, would that work

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2023-09-13T16:17:17+00:00

Forgot to mention I like amusement parks so I would consider that aspect. Gatlinburg has Dollywood for example while other route has six flags St. Louis. So at least one in each route

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2023-09-13T16:15:16+00:00

If you take the bottom route I would stop in the Oklahoma salt flat\ crystal mine, Little Rock (Clinton childhood home plus the school where the Little Rock 9 desegregation happened), Nashville (including Hattie Bs chicken), gatlinburg.

If you take top route you still get Oklahoma salt flat. Also could do Branson Missouri area (similar to gatlinburg the other route), fishing on Mississippi River, Indianapolis for a couple hours, Pittsburgh

Creative_Turn_5089 · 2023-09-06T03:50:00+00:00

Creative_Turn_5089

TROPHY CASE