Tortuga Tex on The American Eel - Text VersionHowdy, it’s a cool dark night. A perfect evening to go out looking for american eels ( Anguilla rostrata ). American eels are cataoromous. Meaning they live in freshwater but return to the sea to spawn. They swim all the way to the Sargasso Sea north of the Bahamas to lay their eggs. Eels feed mostly at night and will eat almost anything they find including fish, frogs, crayfish, bugs and worms. They live for more than 20 years! Males grow to about 1.5 feet and around 3 pounds. Females grow to be 3 or 4 feet long and 5 or 6 pounds. They lay between 10 and 20 million eggs when they spawn! At one time eels could be found in most Texas rivers. In most Texas rivers these days there are fewer though, mainly because dams prevent their upstream migration from the sea. More Tortuga, Please![top] |