# What is a "sheldon eel trap" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 6, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182 "2024-02-06T13:27:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2024, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/21 "2024-02-06T20:29:36Z")
Wow. I did some searching and reading. I’d never seen the show the character you mentioned referred to, but after some reading I think I understand. I initially thought the name would be a famous chef who does wonderful things with eel. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/22 "2024-02-06T20:35:50Z")
What do they do about the slime on raw eel? I couldn’t get past the snot covering. I’ve seen live fresh water eel. They are just nasty looking. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2024, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/23 "2024-02-06T20:44:04Z")
> [@Beckdawrek](#): > > What do they do about the slime on raw eel? I’m sure it washes off, and the eel doesn’t make more after it’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/24 "2024-02-06T20:45:05Z")
You should watch Big Bang Theory. It’s a hoot. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2024, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/25 "2024-02-06T21:03:43Z")
I found some people were just as squeamish about eating cooked eel as they were about eating raw fish, so after getting them to try cooked shrimp and crab stick I try to avoid mentioning eel directly, just say it’s a type of cooked fish called unagi. A lot of people remember the Friends episode and want to try it. The combination of the meat and the _eel sauce_ is rather different for people new to sushi. Once their mental image associated with _eel_ has changed people are more receptive. That probably applies to a lot of foods people don’t grow up with. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2024, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/26 "2024-02-07T09:22:58Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Who eats this fish? I’ve seen elvers for sale in Spain. They are sufficiently popular there that it’s possible to buy fake elvers in a can, made from surimi. > **[Buy Spanish Tinned Gulas (Imitation Baby Eels) in Garlic Dre](https://thetapaslunchcompany.co.uk/product/imitation-baby-eels-in-garlic-dressing-120g)** > > A well-known and completely natural seafood product, actually obtained from the flesh of the Alaskan Pollock, a member of the cod family. They are pretty realistic but you can generally tell them from the real thing because they don’t have eyes. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2024, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/27 "2024-02-07T10:33:27Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Having tried eel sashimi, I would suggest that Mr Sheldon be imprisoned for life. > > Who eats this fish? I would normally be repulsed by the concept of eel, but I love sushi, and when eel comes up in a round of beautifully prepared and presented _omakase_ in a great sushi bar, I’m all in. Eel sushi is usually seared and served with a rich dark sauce and is absolutely delicious. > [@kayaker](#): > > Grilled eel is delicious! Yes indeed! 😋 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2024, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/28 "2024-02-07T12:23:44Z")
I used to buy the little rectangular cans of Chinese braised eel but I can’t be sure of the sourcing. Apparently there is a lot of poaching of eels throughout Europe and they are smuggled off to Asia to supply a demand there. The silver eel is critically endangered here in the UK, partly as a result of illegal overfishing. [https://britishseafishing.co.uk/illegal-trade-in-silver-eels-the-largest-wildlife-crime-on-earth/](https://britishseafishing.co.uk/illegal-trade-in-silver-eels-the-largest-wildlife-crime-on-earth/) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/29 "2024-02-08T05:01:29Z")
As much as I like unagi, I’m not sure I get the answer to the OP. (IANA fisher.) > [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s “two window screens and a box”, says the inventor (and eel poacher) I’m guessing a ‘box trap’ is like [this one](https://www.amazon.com/Ketcham-Supply-Coated-Wire-Baitfish/dp/B08NFGD4G4)? And the window screens are to make a semi-funnel to the open end? Is a ‘Sheldon eel trap’ basically a cheap version of a [fyke net](https://www.seafish.org/responsible-sourcing/fishing-gear-database/gear/fyke-net/)? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/30 "2024-02-08T05:04:44Z")
Follow the link to the 1974 article, there are literally (very dark photocopies of) pictures. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’m guessing a ‘box trap’ is like [this one](https://www.amazon.com/Ketcham-Supply-Coated-Wire-Baitfish/dp/B08NFGD4G4)? No, it’s literally a wooden box with baffles. > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Is a ‘Sheldon eel trap’ basically a cheap version of a [fyke net](https://www.seafish.org/responsible-sourcing/fishing-gear-database/gear/fyke-net/)? I guess you could say that. ---
**Author:** ![Sigene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df788c/32.png) [@Sigene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigene)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/31 "2024-02-08T13:40:38Z")
thanks for bringing this back on topic. I’ve looked over the (very dark) pictures in the report and it looks like a square box where one side has is two screens angled into the box from either edge. The two screens are placed so that side is ‘concave’ and in between the screens there is a 1/4 in wide gap. I assume (but cannot tell) that the opposite side of this box is also a screen that goes all the way across. THe box is placed in an appropriate spot of a slow moving stream where the concave side is downstream. The elvers always want to swim upstream, so they encounter the “V” shaped side with the screens going upstream and are funneled through the 1/4 inch gap into the box. While in the box they continue their journey upstream in the box until they hit the upstream side screen and are trapped. The box looks to be about 2 ft across on a side. I hope that accurately describes how I now understand the configuration. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/32 "2024-02-08T13:50:28Z")
That’s the basic design of an eel trap. Just a smaller version of the giant ancient eel weirs built on the Susquehanna River. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/33 "2024-02-08T14:35:48Z")
> [@Sigene](#): > > The two screens are placed so that side is ‘concave’ and in between the screens there is a 1/4 in wide gap. I saw how dark and grainy were the photocopies of photocopies of photocopies of photocopies, and never got to the picture of the trap (page 18, BTW). In my head, I had the configuration wrong. I thought the screens were external to the box (like wings), and wondered how they kept the eels from swimming out again. Now I see. [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/2eSZ9DS.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/V8dikX0) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/34 "2024-02-08T14:46:46Z")
The same concept is used in numerous fish trap designs. The V shaped sides of a trap can easily steer fish into their confines but fish tend to stick to the sides of the interior and not find their way back to the opening. Elvers (young adult stage eels) along with other fish like salmon are driven to swim upstream at some point in their life cycle making the concept more widely useful. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/35 "2024-02-08T14:51:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The same concept is used in numerous fish trap designs. Snake traps as well. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182/36 "2024-02-09T00:19:18Z")
Ages ago, I posted a topic asking to ID a mystery basket which turned out to be some kind of eel/fish/seafood trap. > [@Identify mystery woven basket thing](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-mystery-woven-basket-thing/581178): > > [What](http://www.flickr.com/photos/46138173@N08/5700613062/) [is](http://www.flickr.com/photos/46138173@N08/5700612632/) [this](http://www.flickr.com/photos/46138173@N08/5700612260/) [object](http://www.flickr.com/photos/46138173@N08/5700611848/)? [It’s](http://www.flickr.com/photos/46138173@N08/5700038675/) woven out of some basket-type material. It has an opening in the middle with sharp point sticks going in making it look like a trap for a small animal, but it’s pretty flimsy and doesn’t really seem practical as a trap for anything hardier than a bird. There’s a large opening at the top, too. Is it just a decorate basket for something? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-sheldon-eel-trap/997182.md?page=1)