...and if they do die, use 'em anyways. Rig them up and cast them, salt them down and skin 'em, there's practically no end to the usefulness of eels. Heck, if you're Italian, your mom'l want a few for Christmas dinner!
A down and dirty quick dead eel rig? I hook the eel through the head on a Kastmaster, which gives it the weight to get it down. It casts marvelously (on the right gear), and catches fish. Adding a dropper hook is a good idea, but not entirely neccessary.
BTW, anyone been skinning eels lately? We could use a primer on how to. Eelskin rigs used to be one of my top producers, although I never had to actually skin the eels myself. I have heard it's not too tough, but haven't been anxious to put that to the test.