You can catch american eels quite easily in the Mohawk and Hudson rivers using nightcrawlers. I have caught many in my time. A few around 3ft long! They are slimy, slimy, slimy and don't put up that great of a fight. They do not look very appetizing to me, however, in the early 1900s they were the target of a large comercial fishery. You can still see the "traps" in the lower delware. Currently the market is for juveniles < 3". They are trapped in salt water bays and exported.
