i live in ct and im catchin stripers in the housitonic river on poppers. these fish are keepers but not to many slot fish yet and no fish over 41. from what i hear and see alot of people are using live herring. i dont kno what they are using or what to use to get them. i talked to poeple who caught some fish in the high 30's and one about 40ins. people tell me it is a blast to get a big hog live lining. any help about catching herring and how to rig them. thanks alot.
joe

Here is the thing. I think herring is just a regional name. What the Rhody/MA guys call herring, people down in our parts call "alewives". Alewives are abundant in just about any shallow running tidal creek. They are on their way up to spawn. You can fish for them in 3 ways. The first way is to use a "bait catching rig". The two most popular ones are made by Mustad and Sabiki. You put a small sinker on the bottom and jig it up and down.

The second way is with a small fly rod.

The third way is to dip net them. Stand on top of bridge or on the shore and net them as they swim buy.

Remember to obey the rules. A 25 creel limit of herring and alewives combined in CT. You also can't fish for them from 12:00 Saturday night to 12:00 Tuesday night. DEP gives steep fines for not obeying the law.

These baits are best used live so take only what you will use and be able to keep alive. I'm not saying chunks won't work but you are better off using them live.

If you are really serious about this, If you get a trash can full of water, you can keep a few alive for a short amount of time. Otherwise, if you want to keep them longer, you can order systems to keep your bait from MikeCC, an upstanding member of this site and tackle shop owner. Check out his site at www.capecodtackle.com.

To fish these baits, there isn't much to it. Get yourself a 4/0, 5/0 or 6/0 Live Bait hook or circle hook. I like the Live Bait hooks because they have a shorter shank and lets the bait swim better. Mustad makes them, so does Gamagatsu. Tie your running line to a barrel swivel. Then take at least 30lb test mono or fluorocarbon and make a 2-3 foot leader. Most people believe Stripers don't have teeth but they have very small ones that will chafe a light leader. Anyways, take your Live Bait hook or a circle hook and either put it through the nostrils or the corners of the eye and out the other corner. Careful not to get the brain! Then just lob it out there and let that fella do the work for you. If there are any bass in the area, they'll be on that fish in no time.

Good luck.

Hey Big Joe, welcome aboard.

For starters, I'd like to make a couple quick comments on the above post. Herring, is the standard name all over the english speaking world and is probably called something similar in other languages as well. There is a chance that Fairfield residents only refer to this global family of fish as Alewives, but from the Atlantic and the Pacific, at least Americans tend to call them herring. There are several species of herring but we are pretty much concerned with two, the previously mentioned Alewives (when I was a kid on the Chesapeke, I called them always - couldn't pronounce it...) and bluebacks... Pretty much the same fish. Both kinda hard to keep alive. Both visciously assaulted by striped bass, and that's what we want...

If you want the stripers, get a dip net to get them. Get what you will need (as long as it is less than the limit) and focus on keeping them alive to where you will fish them. If you want to go the slow route or enjoy it, you can fish for them as Patric mentions... They look like the photo below and are often caught at state or town run or approved "runs". Typically streams and rivers that they swim up in to spawn in ponds...
You'll need to check with some locals to find where and when you can get them. Typically, you'll need a freshwater license.

Best method for keeping bait alive is an aerated live well. Usually a 30-50 gallon tank (preffereably round) with a pump to recirculate air into the water. You'll also want to keep the water cool, especially on hot days, with a little ice... I have a "Keep-Alive" now that I picked up on Friday... But have had various tanks for a few years...

What I usually do, wade into the herring run area (not a problem with some runs as they catch them for you - don't know about your area) with a dip net, scoop them up and put them into a small 5 gal bucket or "laundry basket". Then when I have some, put them into the livewell. If collecting the herring is very slow, I'll make a few trips as the fish will die off if left in the 5 gal bucket. They need a constant flow of air or they'll die.

The laundry basket is a nifty device used by most shore bound live-liners. You take a larger basket with many small holes (smaller and skinnier than the fish) and prefferably round. You take those long float tube thingys the kids swim with and wrap it around the outside top of the basket which will help the basket float (some also run a skinny ring on the inside to help bouyancy). Secure the float tubing with wire ties or such and fabricate a securable lid with hatch for the top. Sometimes an errant wave can flip the basket and you dont want to lose the fish. Be sure to tie a sturdy rope to the basket as sometimes you secure it to yourself when wading for bass or you'll need to tie it off to some kind of structure to keep it from drifting away. It does need enough water to float or the fish will die and it's recommended to have some moving water through it to keep the fish inside alive... The main thing to remember is that they will stay alive best in cool, high oxygen content water like the live-well or in the water where you will fish them...

When fished, I like to hook them with a 6/0 Mustad through the nose, no weights (or a little like a rubber core) and let them do their own thing... If you do some searches on the board for the last 3 weeks, you'll find several threads on fishing with live herring... You only have a few weeks left to have them in any kind of numbers though...

Hope this helps and again, welcome aboard...

John

thanks alot guys im gunna take a trip out probally thrusday the tide will be good then.
joe