Conger

Powerful, secretive and seriously big, the conger eel is one of the most formidable fish you can hook from our shores. It lies up in kelp and gullies through the day, then slips out to hunt once the light goes. Recognise that blunt, scaleless profile and you'll see why every angler who meets one comes away with a story.

What is a conger eel?

A conger, Conger conger, is a large sea eel found all around the UK coast. It has smooth, scaleless grey to almost black skin, a long dorsal fin that starts just behind the head, and powerful jaws lined with strong teeth. Congers hide in holes in rocks, wrecks and harbour walls by day and come out at night to hunt fish, crabs and squid. They live only in the sea and are a different species from the European eel found in rivers.

How to spot it

Smooth, scaleless skin and a deep charcoal-grey back fading to a paler belly mark a conger out at a glance. Look closer and you'll see neat black edging running the length of the dorsal and anal fins, a handy confirming detail. The body is long and eel-shaped; the head is blunt and powerful, packing strong jaws and very sharp teeth that earn it real respect. This is a big fish, reaching around 2 metres. Between the sheer size, the bare skin and that menacing blunt head, there's nothing else on our coast you'd confuse it with.

Where it lives

Conger are creatures of cover, holed up in kelp beds, rocky gullies, wrecks and along harbour walls where they can lie out of sight. They're nocturnal by nature, resting in cover through the day and emerging to hunt as the light fades. Cornwall offers no shortage of likely ground: Mousehole and Newlyn, Mevagissey, Sennen, Mullion and the Lizard, Porthtowan, Tintagel and Trebarwith Strand, and Cape Cornwall all hold fish. Because they feed in the dark, when you go matters as much as where, so think structure, depth and nightfall together.

Catching it

Conger fishing is an after-dark game, plain and simple; daytime sessions rarely produce. Fresh mackerel or whole squid are the baits, fished hard on the bottom with weighted hooks tight to the cover where congers lie. Work the kelp beds, gullies, wrecks and harbour walls of marks like Mousehole, Newlyn, Sennen, Mullion, the Lizard, Tintagel, Trebarwith Strand and Cape Cornwall once the light has gone. Cornwall sets a 58cm inshore minimum size for conger, and the big eels are old breeding stock, so handle them well and return them strong. A serious word on safety: those teeth and jaws can do real damage, so use a proper unhooking tool and keep your fingers well clear of the head.

In the kitchen

Forget delicate fillets; conger is a fish for a big, bold pot. The flesh is dense and meaty and stands up to long, slow cooking, so build a proper stew around it. Sweat onions, fennel and garlic, add tomatoes, a slug of white wine, saffron, smoked paprika and a strip of orange peel, then lay in thick conger steaks and simmer until the flesh is just yielding. The mid-body steaks are the ones to use; the tail end is bony, so save that for stock. Mop it up with rough bread and aioli. It's the kind of dark, warming dish that suits a fish this wild. Be warned: the small bones need picking out as you eat.

Conger eel or common eel? How to tell

Both are long and slippery, but a few details settle it. On a conger the dorsal fin starts close behind the pectoral fins; on a European eel it starts much further back along the body. A conger's upper jaw is slightly longer than its lower jaw, while a European eel's lower jaw sticks out a little. Congers also grow far bigger and live only in salt water, whereas European eels move between rivers and the sea. The European eel is critically endangered, so return any you catch carefully.

Do conger eels have teeth?

Yes. Congers have rows of strong, closely packed teeth that form a cutting edge, set in very powerful jaws. They are not a danger to swimmers, but they bite hard if handled carelessly, and a big conger will twist and spin on the line. Use a strong trace, keep your hands away from the head and unhook with long-nosed pliers or a T-bar. If a fish has taken the hook deeply, cut the trace close to its mouth rather than trying to drag the hook out.

Conger fishing from the shore at night

Most shore congers are caught after dark from harbour walls, breakwaters and rock marks next to deep water and plenty of cover. Fish a strong single-hook rig on the bottom with a big, fresh fish or squid bait, keep the rod in a secure rest and set the drag firm enough to stop a fish getting back into its hole. Fish with a friend, carry a headtorch and a way of calling for help, and wear a lifejacket on rocks and harbour walls. Big congers are best unhooked on a wet surface or at the waterline and released.