Anchovies of Herring
- Thread starter fire-ex
- Start date
finaddict
Well-Known Member
So many opportunities to work with this quote........... and yet I remain silent
Big Green Machine
Well-Known Member
Could be that there are lots of smaller Herring out there in certain areas that do not match the size of store bought Herring. The Anchovy and small Herring are a closer match if no small herring is available for purchase or by jigging.
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Pippen
Well-Known Member
Yup....that's what I use. Not a big fan of the actual herring teasers.
So many opportunities to work with this quote........... and yet I remain silent
Englishman
Well-Known Member
Just started to use herring myself on one side because we scooped a few pounds back in July. I froze them and have since brined some for bait and used them in anchovy teaser heads and the bigger herring teasers. The herring rigged this way do work!
The thing is the herring teasers are not drilled for wire and I do find that even brined the herring are bigger and softer so they end up flopping around and not rolling properly in that kind of teaser.
So I am now using the bullet roll anchovy teaser heads with wire. This works well and I find the herring roll slower than anchovy because they have the wider flatter body and are not torpedo shaped like anchovy. So if you want a slower roll in the faster currents herring are a good choice I think.
Plus "free" bait scooped from a bait ball has gotta be good....right?! LOL
The thing is the herring teasers are not drilled for wire and I do find that even brined the herring are bigger and softer so they end up flopping around and not rolling properly in that kind of teaser.
So I am now using the bullet roll anchovy teaser heads with wire. This works well and I find the herring roll slower than anchovy because they have the wider flatter body and are not torpedo shaped like anchovy. So if you want a slower roll in the faster currents herring are a good choice I think.
Plus "free" bait scooped from a bait ball has gotta be good....right?! LOL
Rhys Davis makes teaser heads for both Anchovy & Herring. They used to make a head for herring strips as well - not sure if they still do. It is my opinion that in most cases where Anchovy are being used that the predominant feed in the water is needlefish. Oddly enough, the Anchovie's are caught in Westport WA. I'd say that 99.9% of bait used at Westport is cut-plug Herring.
scott craven
Well-Known Member
If the herring are too soft, try inserting a round toothpick down the spine.
Fishin'Zinn
Active Member
In my opinion, anchovies more closely resemble the bait in some places where I fish. IE: needlefish! Chovies are only a little bigger usually??? Herring is also around, but I haven't nailed down the exact size of them around here (I really want to catch some for bait next year, never done it before) Tends to get the bigger fish, but less hits overall, and no shakers... Or maybe it's just me and I am used to cut-plug herrings, not teaser heads and I haven't mastered it yet. My biggest fish I've caught down here this year was on a herring in a teaser head that didn't get any bites all day... Funny enough, all little needlefish in it's stomach. Whatever.
Firm believer that good brine is very important. If I am fishing bait (my best days this year far exceed any without bait). Last time I put the effort into a good prep with brining. Pickling salt, and secret stuff - Best fishing day I've had down here ever. Unbrined before I did not achieve nearly as good of results, we still got fish, but I think they hit a lot better with improved action, shine, and roll with brine!
I like both for different reasons personally. If I was looking for steady action I go for anchovies on the ECVI. West coast or up north herring 100% for sure. But I get skeptical so I try it all
Disclaimer... Don't take my advice for anything but a grain of salt, just observations and I could be dead wrong... lol!
Firm believer that good brine is very important. If I am fishing bait (my best days this year far exceed any without bait). Last time I put the effort into a good prep with brining. Pickling salt, and secret stuff - Best fishing day I've had down here ever. Unbrined before I did not achieve nearly as good of results, we still got fish, but I think they hit a lot better with improved action, shine, and roll with brine!
I like both for different reasons personally. If I was looking for steady action I go for anchovies on the ECVI. West coast or up north herring 100% for sure. But I get skeptical so I try it all
Disclaimer... Don't take my advice for anything but a grain of salt, just observations and I could be dead wrong... lol!
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fire-ex, we probably haven't done a descent job of answering your wife's question. i guess somewhere between stupidity and lack of imagination might be the answer, but it is probably more of what type of gear you own (Anchovy versus Herring bait heads) and what you have confidence in. Most times the "right" Hoochie will out fish bait - with Hoochie's there are 100's of choices in finding the "right' Hoochie but with bait there are fewer choices, so it is easier & cheaper for a sports angler to be successful with bait, where a commercial troller can tow 50 or more different Hoochie's them dial-in what catches the most fish.
Also, you don't always need to match closely what the fish are eating - 5 years ago I pulled a 16" Sardine out of a Chinook in Ucluelet; finding a bait/lure that matches that would be rare up here. On the flip side there are area's on WCVI where squid come into spawn. Ran herring & jigs at them for days - nothing. Switched to a OG11R Hoochie and hooked-up 3 in about 20 minutes. Next day we saw a commercial troller anchored-up still fishing that same area with live squid they had jigged; the squid were brown & white, a somewhat poor match of the Hoochie i was using the day before but obviously a better match than Herring.
I have been fishing Ucluelet since 1983; used to keep a boat moored there going often, and over the years i have a good idea what what works when & where & always try to use something that resembles what i think the fish are feeding on. These days the fish are so much smaller than the good old days so i tend to only go in August & fish offshore with big plugs & spoons.
Also, you don't always need to match closely what the fish are eating - 5 years ago I pulled a 16" Sardine out of a Chinook in Ucluelet; finding a bait/lure that matches that would be rare up here. On the flip side there are area's on WCVI where squid come into spawn. Ran herring & jigs at them for days - nothing. Switched to a OG11R Hoochie and hooked-up 3 in about 20 minutes. Next day we saw a commercial troller anchored-up still fishing that same area with live squid they had jigged; the squid were brown & white, a somewhat poor match of the Hoochie i was using the day before but obviously a better match than Herring.
I have been fishing Ucluelet since 1983; used to keep a boat moored there going often, and over the years i have a good idea what what works when & where & always try to use something that resembles what i think the fish are feeding on. These days the fish are so much smaller than the good old days so i tend to only go in August & fish offshore with big plugs & spoons.
adanac
Well-Known Member
Quite off topic but interested in how that commercial troller was still fishing live squid? Rod and reel? Handline?
