Herring?

[PolarBear]

I was out at our clubs island yesterday and there were thousands of herring just milling around the cove feeding.  This happened at the same time last year.  My question is do any of you know a good way (besides netting) how to catch them?  I have heard of herring jigs but have never used them or don't know how.  I would like to get a few dozen to cure for bait.  Thanks.

[CP]

Just drop the herring jig into the school and let it set, when you feel a twitch give it a little pull then let it set some more to hook more fish.  You can pull them in 4 or 5 at time. 

[Da stump]

Those herring jigs are great and come in all kinds of patterns.  Teacherman even caught some black bass on them.  Should be able to find them at most quality fishing stores.  They work great on smelt too.

[PolarBear]

Thanks, I didn't know whether I needed to let it sit or jig it around.  I want to try it out this week.  The water was black with medium to large fish.

[CP]

The little white mylar wings work best.  The key is finding the right depth, drop it a few feet at a time then let it set, repeat until you get a hit.  once you hook one the rest just go into a feeding frenzy. 

[PolarBear]

What is nice about the area where they have been hanging out is right in front of the bridge linking the island to the mainland.  You can literally see and drop right on top of them.  I hope that I can get to them before they head out into deeper water.  Last year they were in the cove for almost a month.

[jackelope]

we used to throw blue fox spinners at them back in NY. that or we threw big treble hooks at them. alive and well they make for great hudson river striper bait. about 8"-10" is the perfect size. i don't know enough about them to know whether it's the same species or not.

[Crunchy]

Throw in a herring jig and just real it in. I add some weight to the bottem swivel to keep a tight line.  No magic to it.

[Dmanmastertracker]

 The herrring jigs work great, though careful not to jig too hard, you get a lot of body hook ups and can tear them up too bad if you jig too hard. I've seen guys also slow-trolling for herring while trolling for salmon, seems to work.

[SpokaneSlayer]

While jigging for squid, we would tie on a few small gold hooks with a red bead above them.  We'd haul in tons of herring.

[rougheye]

In AK we use a sibiki rod with a herring jig . The rod allows you to reel the hooks into the rod to the herring fall right off into your bucket . You have to be careful shaking them off so they dont lose all there scales . have fun