Pickerel & Eel

juvenile

Chain Pickerel

This fish is prone to over-populate whatever waters it is in, with the result that few get very big, instead, there are large numbers of small ones. They actually do pretty well in an aquarium, as long as you provide them with a steady supply of live minnows. They are not aggressive towards anything they cannot swallow.

what it looks like from the boat

-- Wikipedia


American Eel

Eels are typically only seen at night. Pencil-sized young are common. Yearlings that have just come in from the sea are 3-4 inches. After many years in freshwater, these eels go back out to sea to spawn, and then die. Eels are extremely slimy, you don't want to handle one.

-- Wikipedia


Real side handles make necessary tie-down points for transport, and are well worth the cost of adding them if your boat doesn't have them. This is a good model that uses two screws at each end to secure it. Even better, if you can reach inside the hull, use bolts and washers instead of screws. Kayak plastic is pretty thick though, and the screws have not been a problem.