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?

HERRING
 

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

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.