hooking conger?

[flounder5791]

Tried for my first conger last night and within 10 mins got a nice solid knock then the ratchet went and the fish swam off along the side of the pier struck into the fish and brought him to the surface once he was on the surface for a few mins we lost him this happened 4 more times so we left the bite develop and when we struck it was jyst a solid weight so I imagine he took the bait and swam back into his hole and snagged the line .... all fish were 20 lbs +》
Could anyone tell me what we are doing wrong is there any certain way to hook them ? Thanks conor .

[Eoin]

sometimes if they get into a hole they come out again later. cut your line and tie it to something. then check it b4 you go home.

[Rob Millard]

Try not to have it on the surface for too long, either land the bugger or leave him subsurface till you're ready to land him. Once on the surface they tend to go a bit mental, thrashing about and doing rolls, and can throw the hook.

[Turner85]

I also tried for my first congor the other night. But didnt feel a thing besides one hit which felt more like something just swimming into my line. Was your hook nicely revealed, check out tafishing on youtube. Theyve two videos on congor tips

[gfkelly1969]

http://www.britishcongerclub.org.uk/

[redzerologhlen]

Tried for my first conger last night and within 10 mins got a nice solid knock then the ratchet went and the fish swam off along the side of the pier struck into the fish and brought him to the surface once he was on the surface for a few mins we lost him this happened 4 more times so we left the bite develop and when we struck it was jyst a solid weight so I imagine he took the bait and swam back into his hole and snagged the line .... all fish were 20 lbs +》
Could anyone tell me what we are doing wrong is there any certain way to hook them ? Thanks conor .

I think I made those congers hookwise Conor You need a dropnet to land them, the steps are too far away and they are too big to be dragging them up anyway. Cast a few feet up from the crack so they have to come out fully, I made the same mistake before and was a bit thick over leaving a hook in it. I started using finer kamasan 7/0 hooks rather than the bit meat hooks too because they will rust away quicker and they are easier to set. I dont strike until they start to pull, they might be nudging the bait around for 5 or 10 minutes before that and i havent had a deep hooked one yet.