Another Herring question...

[Mr. Sandman]

If I get one of those nice looking bait cages I saw at the SB show...and put in a salt pond. How long will herring live in there. (assume it is a big enough cage)

Will they last thru the summer into the fall or just a few weeks if I am lucky.

[goosefish]

I had some fish that lasted into the summer last year, but the fish were so emaciated by then I let them go. If I were to do it again, which I'm not, then I'd feed them. I've caught them on squid and tiny hooks so, maybe, you could feed them squid. But the herring that you catch, I'd say try to use when the herring are returning to sea. Then switch to shad in July, scup all summer, and the eel whenever you see fit. This is how it can go in Rhody, different in other places.

[Sweetwater]

A nice and informative article in the April 15th issue of The Fisherman on keeping herring. Check it out.