I hate fishing with eels. They are so slimy to catch in the bait well, they are hard to hook and they tangle in everything if you are still fishing. None the less, they are killer baits for cobia. If you want to cast them, hook them through the upper lip where they are like leather. I usually hook them behind a 1/2 oz jig and that takes some of the snap off when you cast. It also lets you place them better if casting for a specific area. I would use crabs for drum and white jig/fluke combinations, live herring or sea worms for stripers. I save the eel hastles for 100lb+ cobia.