muddy tracks

[Ex Member lyndon]

just bought a canoe and whilst on the canal the other day spotted a lot of muddy snake like tracks in the shallows of the canal about 1" under the water and then all the way in to the center where i could not see them any more, i am asuming these are from eels grubbing around on the bottom as this is the first time ive seen them i just need some one to confirm this for me i have some traps and would like to try them .
is there a best time for eel fishing with traps ? full moon etc.?or a spacific month of the year ? what size should i take and what size should i return ? ive found sites with info about eels but its mostly habbitat or scientific not usually related to catching and never related to eating them. angua angua is a fan site about eels belive it or not but dosent mention any of the things i need to know
thanks for any help offered peeps.

 

[steve a]

Lyndon, I think the 'tracks' are more likely to be the tracks left by swan mussels rather than eels. I've never seen an eel track but have seen these type of track with a sun mussel at the end of it.

 

[Ex Member lyndon]

ahh.... ive seen what i think is swan mussels at the side of the canal broken open and chewed up i thought it must have been by an otter maybe
are they edible ? do they contain pearls ?as i saw a programme years ago about a guy who made his living in britain collecting fresh water pearls was it from these mussels or from fresh water oysters (if such a thing exists )

anyway thanks for the reply steve i shall investigate further (if the boats leave the water clear up long enuff)