Yes, I'm going to miss fishing "the herring run" with river herring - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

striprman · 03-01-2006, 01:21 AM

seems like a ritual... I'll try lures...but... I enjoyed gettting a permit (that was supposed to cut down on fishermen taking too many fish), waiting for the herring agent to get my bucket of herring, loading the live well and putting on my waders...hope things get better in 3 years (I doubt they will though). No "ritual" of getting up at 3 A.M. to put my bucket in line,getting a dozen, only to fish them effectively for a hour or so...I get to stay in bed now...unless I want to fish with a lure... it's not the same though.

stiff tip · 03-01-2006, 07:05 AM

s-man..sense 78 i,ve lived on cape,i came here to fish ,and raise a family .20yrs in mashpee. herrin fashing was a way of life, herrin ment bass.. some days it was 1for1 from boat or canal. not to many guys then.we fished for the $$$$$.to scoop herrin was on big deal ,then the bottom droped out no big bass .close season etc. u know?early 90 bass came back.so did the fishermam. and the presser on the herrin.fisherman r herrin pigs .at canal run we scored more than u needed,thats when u could jump in w/ 2 nets and your basket ,and run the run .get that u can ,go fishing .know, toooo many people fishin herrin, to much pressure on all the runs .off shore who knows .lots of problums.u can blame them all..butherrin r not comin back theway they should ..the fisherie needs help ....ps more like 7or 8 yrs.not 3 yrs,

Back Beach · 03-01-2006, 08:16 AM

Herring fishing was not just a good way to catch fish. It was an entire outing/experience from the early hours you got up to the catching of the bait to the sometimes out of control action. What I will miss most is the entire experience, not just the fishing part. Its like a traditional part of the sport has been lost, regardless of the hows and whys.

stiff tip · 03-01-2006, 08:47 AM

the pochin of herrin got way out of hand .live carts , full of bait ,swimming pools w/ 500 herrin ,the rivers blocked off ,the hole 9yds.but i saw the lite?insted of a herrin hussler i became a helper .the runs went crazy people fighting .it got out of hand...last yr only a tenth of the herrin came back. this is not good save what we can and hope they come back...

Rappin Mikey · 03-01-2006, 09:04 AM

It sux. But, it is needed. Plus there is more than one way to skin a cat. Or as Sandman would put it, catch a cat.

Mike P · 03-01-2006, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stiff tip

the pochin of herrin got way out of hand .live carts , full of bait ,swimming pools w/ 500 herrin ,the rivers blocked off ,the hole 9yds.but i saw the lite?insted of a herrin hussler i became a helper .the runs went crazy people fighting .it got out of hand...last yr only a tenth of the herrin came back. this is not good save what we can and hope they come back...

I remember fishing herring at the Run in the early 80s, when bass were in the toilet, numbers-wise. You had the place all to yourself. I'd float herring under a balloon, and sometimes, I'd walk one all the way to the Cribbin, or even High Bank. You might cull one or two fish a night. Bass started slowly coming back, but the numbers of fishermen didn't go up right away. I remember fishing the Run with Ricky Hearn and one of his firends on the weekend between Mothers Day and Memorial Day--was either in 1987 or 1988--and wrecking bass all night. The limit was either 33" or 36" and we released all but one 26 pounder that Ricky took. I fished herring for the last time the following May--I went down at first light, and saw 20 guys lined up shoulder to shoulder on both sides of the mouth of the Run. I took a spot at the end of the west line, saw a school of pogies mixed in with the herring, snagged one, put it on, took a bass, left, and never fished herring again.

I saw all of the crap going on--guys stretching seines across the tunnel under Rte 6, guys cast netting in the Carter-Beall property. Made me sick. We have no one to blame but ourselves for what happened. I've been saying that the herring stocks in Great Herring Pond have been in trouble since the early 1990s. Hawg Hunter Brad used to live on the pond and watched fewer and fewer herring coming up every year, when he waded and fished for F/W bass from the shallows. No one wanted to listen then.

Once a run is fished out, it takes a long time to recover. Personally, I think the fishery is going to stay closed for a good long time.

tattoobob · 03-01-2006, 04:00 PM

This is something I am going to get used to, I got some 11 inch flies and a couple of plugs, But as you said it just will not be the same. It sure will stop the crowds, I would love to catch a 30 pound bass on my fly rod

Christian · 03-01-2006, 04:40 PM

never fished a live herring in my life.

Uncle Matt · 03-01-2006, 04:46 PM

Time to put the portable livewells away for a while. I'm gonna miss the 3am wakeup in the tent, driving from run to run, standing in line and hoping you get your limit. For all the bit<hing I did, it still was fun.

I'm not going to miss that distict ammonia type herring livewell smell though.

stiff tip · 03-01-2006, 05:09 PM

fishin w/ fresh dead worked great.lot less work too. properly ice down they would last all day .twitchin herrin was the balls.you could move around when u wanted to .on the canal i mean ..

jettyjockey18 · 03-01-2006, 07:44 PM

last year was the first year i didn't fish herring since '91 because i didn't get drawn for a middleboro herring permit and i stopped fishing the canal run in the mid 90's...i definitely missed it for all the reasons already listed...

Slipknot · 03-01-2006, 07:59 PM

I stopped getting herring in 2001 I think. I got 1 herring that year, the lines were rediculous. I have not fished them live since then.
I don't miss it, it's too much like work. Some people think tossing 4-5 ounce jigs for hours work, I call it recreation, especially when the fish are biting. Herring fishing can be addicting I know, but the lines and the shortages take the fun out of it. I hope the runs can recover, but I think it will take more than 3 years, the good thing is they didn't wait untill there were practically none left.

gone fishin · 03-01-2006, 09:11 PM

I for one will miss the zoo at the run, BUT I hope the herring recover quickly and the lesson is learned. No herring and that means no bait and that means NO BASS! Anyone who fishes the canal can attest to that.

scoobe · 03-01-2006, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tattoobob

This is something I am going to get used to, I got some 11 inch flies and a couple of plugs, But as you said it just will not be the same. It sure will stop the crowds, I would love to catch a 30 pound bass on my fly rod

30# er in the ditch on the flyr rod... that would make you a instant living legend, bob