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Instead of using the entire eel, many salt-water anglers use just the skin to make effective lures.
(You catch the eels and skin them yourself or you buy the skins already packed in jars.) The simplest
type of eelskin rig is made from a copper or brass tube or pipe. See Fig. 117. The diameter of the tube
or pipe will depend on the size and length of the eelskin you want. The small-diameter tubes are best
for shorter skins while the larger ones are used for longer, wider eelskins. Cut off about 1 in. of the
pipe and drill holes at both ends. If you use a shorter length of pipe you need only one hole, in the
middle. With a triangular file, file a groove all around the pipe at one end. Now get some brass chain
and attach two hooks to the chain. The length of the chain and the distance between the two hooks will
depend on the length of the eelskin you use. Now get a couple of sets of bolts and nuts. The bolts
should be long enough to fit through the holes drilled in the copper pipe. Start one of the bolts
through the front of the pipe, slip a barrel swivel on the bolt inside the copper pipe, and complete
the bolting operation. See Fig. 117 again. Then run the other bolt through the holes on the other end
of the pipe. But before you complete this bolting operation, slip the last link of the chain on the
bolt inside the pipe. The final step is to slip the eelskin over the two hooks, piercing the skin and
allowing the points and barbs to protrude. Then tie the eelskin to the copper pipe with fishing line,
making certain that the line rests snugly in the groove you filed.
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