I got herring on the brain:D

I have to admit I the past few years I didnt pay much attention to herring, but after learing a lot this year, I now know quite more about these shiney silver, gold, blue creatures....

Heres my question.....

I know where I'm going to go grab these little bass candies... but am wondering if the cold winter will delay their return....
I've been giving the wakefield ladder a quick glance everyday after work and so far... no herring.. I know its early for them, and from what I have been told they usually show up mid march..

so do you guys think it will be a late start?

how many of you live line them?

how many of you scoop em up and freeze them for bait?

how many of you actually eat them?

I'll give a shout when I start seeing them at my local ladder... its only 2 blocks away from me.:cool:

I think it's more fun to use chopped fresh herring as chum and throw plugs.

that's a thought.....

Wee Wee I love you! Now that's a real fisherman's point of view!

DOWN WITH HEATHENISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:cheer s:

don,t freeze any

take 100 at a time


fish ten at a time

winter dosen,t matter =watch the spring




use hooks

I grab just enough to use for the day I'm going. In Mass you're only supposed to go after them with a dip net.
They work like magic, if you can find them.
later,
Rick

Find a nice rip, cut the herring into small chunks, and throw a bunch into the rip, put a 1 ounce weight on your line, put a 3 foot, 40 pound test mono leader on with a barrel swivel and a 2/0 -4/0 hook, put a chunk of herring on the hook and cast it into the chum line, keep your finger on the running line and set the hook when Mr. Big comes calling.

Used to do that and had a blast doing it...but Connectciut don't allow that anymore :(

In general , for conservation reasons , its best to wait till they have gone up and spawned and catch them on the way down. The bigger bass that will eat them don't come in till late april or early May.

Anyway , try to let them spawn before grabbing them.

saltheart,s right ===we see guys filling buckets to freeze =when they are going up====give them a chance===========

I think I read that the limit was 24 per day? so no one should be filling buckets anyway. I agree get them on their way out. Best for the fish and you still get what you want.

Can you net them at the wakefield ladder? HoW? there's a wire mesh cover over the ladder itself.

It is a BIG NO NO to take them from the ladder. If I am corect you cant be within 5 or 10 ft of a ladder.

Anything that I've read says that water temp is the controlling factor for when fish enter freshwater to spawn. I agree...let'em spawn then catch'em.

Originally posted by KLMulder
It is a BIG NO NO to take them from the ladder. If I am corect you cant be within 5 or 10 ft of a ladder.

I know that... and no, I would never do that. If youlook at the ladder from the bridge, then cross the street, you can see a rope across the river.. that is the upper limit of where you are allowed to catch them.

MakoMike....... think 69 beers on tap, then think back parking lot:D

Saltheart, I will definately grab the ones going downstream.... it makes perfect sense.

I went to a ladder by me last year just to see how they were running ( did not even have anything to catch them with) and went thru the gate to look in the ladder and DEM came screemin down the hill and went nutz on me. At least I know he was serious about his job.:D

Hey Eb, I posted awhile back on this. I'm anxious to live line'em - you know the spot where I'd like to do it. I have no clue how to get them or how to keep them. I'm sure they're not as hardy as eels!
But I agree with an earlier post. If they're running March and April, there are not usually any big bass around 'til late May, at least in SoCo. I thought the run goes into May?

RIJIMMY,

you need a livewell, a bucket with an airator and a cast net or a dip net.

Yep I know where you want to go:D its a long walk with that bucket..

I just picked up a penn liveliner.... so I got herring on the brain....

I dip net for 'em and definitely on the way down AFTER spawning. I wait for a long time before I go dip net for a couple. I put them in a bucket with an aerator and pen'n up at dads slip ;) They die in the pen the get cut into chunks. ;) Fish dont like bass candy anyhow leave 'em alone, think they'll let us in there in waders and with our dip nets? And dont throw swimmers in your chum slick, you arms tend to get sore.

:smash: you gotta take me out on that boat....I got a trick to show you and pops..:D

So when we going? You can walk down first , and ill float them down from the road to you in a innertube, just dont feed all the stripers before i get down there.

While we're on the subject of herring plugs...thought I'd post a pic of some types that have done well for me in prior Springs when the herring were running.

When you're fishing daytime with sun, I like to use a color scheme that shows off the pink irridescence when the sun hits the water. You'll see the pink stripe on the Mambo Minnow, a Beachmaster "Atom-40" type metal-lip swimmer, and a Super Strike darter.

Herring also have a rich "gold" color - so if I'm fishing low light situations, I'll throw the olive and gold Bassmaster Danny plug (below right).

In shallow water (1-3 feet) I'll just use a plain old Mambo Minnow with a white/silver body and black back. Simple but deadly on the Vineyard in May.

One more thing...you've seen this pic posted here a million times before. I was goofing off at the local aquarium a few winters ago and took this snapshot of a tank full of juvenile herring.

If you look close you can see flashes of pink irridescence. I didn't really pick it out until another guy who was a knowledgeable plug builder pointed it out after I had posted the pic.

I took a peak this afternoon during lunch at the local run...no heavy ice anymore but no sign of them yet...soon though. Sounded really nice!

I agree, I think you *should* ONLY be allowed to take them post spawn...I have asked the constable about this (why it is open pre spawn) and he said some folks like them for the roe. OK. I think (at this juncture) the roe is the most valuable part of this fish, we need it to grow more fish..we can't waste it. But that guy is a lobster man looking for bait!!...again, poor management (who really don't care) and little enforcement with no teeth is the reason the herring status is what it is. Not just the runs either...offshore as well. How about we do what is right for the fishery and forget about everyones individule needs for once.

You want to stop run breakins/poaching ect..1 year in prison mandtory no parole. (yeah i am serious) Unfort. It will never happen. Crack dealers in jr. Highs don't get that! No one really cares about these fish...if they did something would have been done a loooong time ago.

IMO they should just shut down all the runs for at least 5 years completely. It is insane out here. I swung past the run at 3:00am last year and there was already a line for when it opened at 5:00am. We have guys breaking into the run at night on closed days to steal herring, they bust up the gates and even damagin the run itself....several times each season. I am going to stake it out some night and 911 these sob's.
I spoke to the constable about this and he said that what really pisses him off is they they trashed the latter and no fish made it up for something like 48 hours...until he fixed it. Everyone esp sports fisherman need to protect this resource not abuse it.

They are building a new run out here (re-establishing an old one from katama bay to the pond) Dug it out and but they plan to cover it somehow (friggin cormants can eat something like 20 per day each.), take about 5+ years for it to get producing again. The constable told me they had $300K to do it, most of it went for the firggin permits to the state and fed to dig in there! WTF is wrong with this picture!?! Again, top management with their thum up their butt. They should GIVE them the permits and HELP($) them with the heavy lifting...if not this will be gone.

the herring run that i fish centers around the CT river. the state of CT has a ban on the taking of herring. even when it was legal to fish live herring, plugs can consistantly outfish live bait! by day, you can't beat a yellow/white pencill popper up here. at night, bombers in solid black or solid white, depending on the moon phase, are the ticket. i guess i was always too conservation minded to use live herring. also, i look at time spent "catching" bait as waisted fishing time. that's just me though.

nothing beats a livie on the end of your line...any time, anywhere.

Originally posted by capesams
nothing beats a livie on the end of your line...any time, anywhere.

I dunno Steve, hand grenades work better than herring, I think. :hihi:

Originally posted by capesams
nothing beats a livie on the end of your line...any time, anywhere. it is NOT possible to properly fish a live herring in 75% of the places i fish. it is totally different than anything you will encounter in the salt. i have never been outfished on the river standing next to a person throwing live herring when i am throwing plugs. EVER! the herring runs in RI and out eastern mass compared to what we have on the CT river river are like comparing ice fishing to fly fishing.

I'll get thrown in the pokey by the local constabulary if I so much as LOOK at a herring here in Connecticut. :(

for CT herring issues, check out this post i made about the next CCA-CT hartford meeting. http://www.striped-bass.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12957

sorry,,I can't help it if you live there...it's your choice:p

Originally posted by capesams
sorry,,I can't help it if you live there...it's your choice:p :bc::smash:

Does Hartford have any saltwater? :D :bshake:

I would definatley rather toss plugs. The only bait I ever use is live eels. I saw some footage of bass hitting live herring and I been intrigued by the possibilities.
But, I also agree withe TL, I don't have much time to get bait, I'd rather fish.
Looking at FWW picture, I think Storm Wildeyes look alot like herring and they have the irridescence.
I'll have to give them a shot.
Eben, I also wanted to try the Barrington or Warren rivers, I know there are runs in the spring there as well.

Years ago when I was a wee lad (not a wee wee) Guys did well with squid on the bottom at Barrington Beach...

But I'm a plug/eel guy.. Plugs in may, once the herring drop I switch to 50/50 eels/plugs

From Wee Wee's list of plugs , I like the Mombo Minnows best when herring are around. Same as any plug , certain colors work better at certain palces and at certain times. olive with the goldish botoom is nice! :)

Herring come up from the ocean into the rivers to spawn my office is on the taunton river theres a small outflow going up to one of the local ponds right beside here it flows out to the taunton river would herring go up this small stream or do they go all the way up riverby passing these small outlets if they did go up there Id have a cool spot all to myself to get them well to see them I should say:D

My secret weapon last may was a 2 1/4 oz Atom Atomizer popper... it smoked the bass. blue head/white body..
ahh just the thoughts of the first morning i used it give me the shivers:( 20lbers jumping straight out of the water after the thing...:smash:

I guess you weren't standing next to me Toby. :)

Originally posted by fishweewee
While we're on the subject of herring plugs...thought I'd post a pic of some types that have done well for me in prior Springs when the herring were running.

When you're fishing daytime with sun, I like to use a color scheme that shows off the pink irridescence when the sun hits the water. You'll see the pink stripe on the Mambo Minnow, a Beachmaster "Atom-40" type metal-lip swimmer, and a Super Strike darter.

Herring also have a rich "gold" color - so if I'm fishing low light situations, I'll throw the olive and gold Bassmaster Danny plug (below right).

In shallow water (1-3 feet) I'll just use a plain old Mambo Minnow with a white/silver body and black back. Simple but deadly on the Vineyard in May.
Marvelous, I have the olive mambo minnow. Are we going to use them on the herring run, Ben?

:hihi:

I just bought a 3 ounce and a 1 1/4 atomizer yesterday, really cant wait to try them now!:D

Does anybody ever liveline herring off the back beaches at night? I think it would be to hard to cast one of those bad boys to where the fish USUALLY areduring the day. I use them most of the time in the river and at Bass Hole in Dennis. At both places I fish a channel that is only about 30 yrds across. I can get a herring a bit more then 1/2 way into the channel before I start lobbing them off.

Like I said....anywhere:D

I like the the herrin an so do the slob's[big girl's] 97% of the time, it's the quality of the fish I'm after, so taking a few min's to get them is not a problem..rather only get 3 cow's to 20 twink's.

Well last year from boat I did as well on dead whole herring as I did on live ones. It depends a lot on the presentation. I like a 2oz egg sinker with a good swivel and 4' of 30 clear leader. drift the boat. Bang, Bang Bang. lots of big stripers.

For cut up herring , you should try "helicopter herring" not just square chunks.

due explain helicopter herring if you don't mind?

I think helicopter herring is when you leave the tail on and it helicopters in the current...

no??

Yup,
Me and Mikey takem all post spawn.:D
Love,
Rick

I made a live well for the back of my Blazer last year. Used a BIG tub with a bilge pump hooked to a garden hose that I drilled holes in and I wire tied to the side of the Tub. Worked pretty good at keeping the herring alive. I got the herring at the Gilbert Stuart run... lots of work. I live lined at the Narrow for 3 weeks and never touched a fish. One of my partners who has done this for years had the same results. I know that live Herring are killer but last year at the River they just didn't produce.
I have made some BIG swimmers and painted them in a Herring pattern complete with scales. I am probably going to skip the live lining this year and just throw the swimmers

WeeWee... are YOU are registered Herring offender?...

Is that the REAL reason why all DEM eyes are on YOU?... :eyes:

Helicipter herring is where you slice the herring with one long diagonal slice. this gives you 2 pieces , both with a fat end and the other end pointed. Hook the chunk in the middle . Whemn you toss it in the water , it will spin as it sinks.

Anyway , it imparts some action that attracts the fish.

Great Tip! :btu: Thanks!

Originally posted by piemma
I live lined at the Narrow for 3 weeks and never touched a fish. One of my partners who has done this for years had the same results. I know that live Herring are killer but last year at the River they just didn't produce.


I gotta tell you.... last year, the river just didnt produce much for me either...
Especially at the times and places where it usually did in past seasons....(but I've only been fishing it a couple of years).

Eben how could you not pay attention to herring when you fish THE RIVER that screams at you herring. Here's a tip. Chunk your herring. I've outfished more guys that livelined right next to me by chunking. Don't get me wrong catching a keeper with live herring is fun, but I've learned my lesson. To me live herring is a pain in the butt. I know a few guys that liveline on the boat and kill fish, but from shore I like to chunk. Once in a while if I'm fishing a spot and the herring are flopping on the beach I'll live line but otherwise the chunks are more dependable.

Eben,
Gotcha. Maybe one of these days I'll buy you one of those 69?

Originally posted by Bliz
WeeWee... are YOU are registered Herring offender?...

Is that the REAL reason why all DEM eyes are on YOU?... :eyes:

Nope, but honestly I could give a rat's ass about Connecticut's stupid herring laws. I don't believe in unjust laws. This attitude seems to be shared by a lot of other people who just don't give a $hit and poach herring anyways.

Chipwood - I do not understand how a chunk of dead herring can be better than a live one? Please explain your thinking.

Over the years I've found that chunks of herring work better than livelined herring. I don't know, that's the way it is. I fished a run for years and I'd see a guy there who religiously fished live herring and I would get more fish with the chunk. Now in some places it could be different but the herring runs I have fished chunks were more effective. As the spring progresses I get away for herring but I notice that guys still use live and do well, mostly from the boat, but by then there are other baits I prefer. I 've seen chunks outproduce live too many times in the spring plus it's easier than keeping herring alive. If you were hungry would you rather expend energy or lazily pick up a tasty chunk off the bottom.

I guess you never know what the bass are thinking. I have had the opposite experience as yours. Fishing chunks I was getting nothing while a guy next to me livelining was nailing bass after bass.

Has anybody ever checked these out before for a livewell? It's pretty cheap only $35. Converts any size cooler.

Dont herring need round livewells, so they can swim easier and keep o2 flowing over their gills?

The Dad:

a live well that is circular rather than square, like the cooler you picture, is better. That will allow the hering to swim around in circles rather than bumping into corner and walls. The O2 system pictured might be OK, but I would put it on a barrel of some sort, like a 55 gal drum cut in half.

Chef- yes round ones are better,but i think it depends on how many heathens you have in your tank...


Chipwood- Oh... I pay attention to the herring down there, but I'm a plugger.. So instead of touching them at all, I would plug away... and have done very well only plugging. This winter however, I've been thinking about how and where I fish and things I have learned from this site and from people I have fished with and live bait has some appeal when my parents ask me to keep a fish for them, or if I have the urge to target large fish. I dont think you can argue that bigger fish are caught on bigger baits, especially near the bottom.
Time will tell, and who knows... I might just freeze and chunk off of my friends boat in stonnington.

In the end though... to me fishing is about relaxing and being outside surrounded by nature. I dont want fishing to turn into a job.

Saltheart, the herring helicoptor method you described, isn't it what some people used for a offshore bait trolling? When it spins, it disperses its oily scents in a cloudy manner, correct?

I'm sorry guys but I have to support herring regs and closures.
They are thinking of closing what use to be a very productive southcoast herring run due to the poor returns over the past five
years . Last year only 24000 fish went through the counters . Who knows what the reasons are for the poor showing around the southeastern Mass area but I believe poaching and water quality of the rivers are the two biggest problems. Conn may have the right idea. This link in the food chain gets broken we may be fishing 3 miles out over sea herring not alewives. My .02.

I know one thing bout herring, I freaking love it when you're live line'n em and you start to feel them freak out then WHAM! Its like a 50 lb anvil just got dropped on your line. :D

Originally posted by The Dad Fisherman
Has anybody ever checked these out before for a livewell? It's pretty cheap only $35. Converts any size cooler.

take a 5 gal bucket and cut it into four pieces-caulk them into the corners to make it oval and keep the herringo's swimming round and round

What is the Law on that because I*ve was told without a permit you couldnt touch once they enter fresh water.To get at herring in Bourne you must get permit from town and they regulate what you get.

Jim O I heard the powers to be met yesterday afternoon buy I haven't heard what the outcome was. As far as poaching goes I wonder just how much goes on on that river. I hope little. One has to wonder what the State has in mind when they spent over 50 grand on a ladder on a river a little further South. Problem is there's at least 2 dams downstream of this ladder. Go figure.

For those of you that chunk herring do you use a sinker or just let it drift with no weight?

I think it won't be long before other States follow CT's lead. The numbers of herring are down. I read that the Harwich run may be closed for the next three years due to a very low return rate. The herring are going away, conservation of this resource should be supported by more people.

After the closure in CT, we learned to fish with artificials. You can do really well with artificials, if you put in the time. It take four years for this years herring fry to return to spawn, so conservation measures will take at least that long to even see if they are working. We are in the third year of a total closure in CT. Hopefully we will see results in the next few years.

When chunking out of an anchored boat I set up above the rip and use an egg sinker. Depth and current dictate how much weight. Generally I get away with 1 to 2 oz.

I love to bring the kids out and chunk, because it is somewhat easy in that you're not constantly throwing and reelin. Let the line out 10 - 30 yards, put on the clicker, stick the rod in the rod holder and wait for the reel to sing. Not the most technical way to fish, but great with the kids.

Off the beach I would use a fishfinder rig with a few ounces of weight to hold bottom, again depending on current and depth.

In regards to the herring in Narry Bay, the Russian ships have been anchored the past few years and I'd like to know their impact on the herring situation for RI.

Pretty sure the ruskies didnt anchor in the bay this year. They were welcome, but im pretty sure they didnt make it here.

I think I read elsewhere on this board that the russian ship is in New Beford this year. Can anybody confirm that? Wonder if they moved on because they were not filling the quota over this way. Of course NB isn't that much further down the coast. I don't think they really know the impact of the herring fleet. There is only a fraction of a percent of observers on the fleet. They just passed legislation to add more funding for observers for the boats.