Fishing Off A Bridge In Esquimalt

[TelStar26]

I remember going fishing off some bridge in the esquimalt area with my dad years ago. But thats about all I remember. Last week I saw people on the bridge fishing and it brougth me back. Am I correct, that they would be using herring jigs? Are these herring or anchovies there trying to catch? Do you need a fresh or salt water licence? Is there size and count regulations? It seems like a fun afternoon for me and the old lady, Plus ill get some bait to freeze for the summer!
Any info or insight would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks

 

[Sea Ranger]

Hi TelStar26,
Yes, they are herring fishing from the bridge. Small herring jigs with about 6 to 8 hooks on each jig. Jig from the bridge and you just might get some herring. The herring run isn't as good as it once was but you can still catch some. The only time of year you can catch them from the bridge is this time of year into mid or late March. Good luck.... Steve.

 

[TelStar26]

Great, Thank you. I was Just looking on the fisheries site, and it said theres a daily limit of 20kg! I guess I dont have to worry about catching over my limit! And it said there was no minimum size requirments.
Im still wondering:
Do you know how deep it is there? Do the herring stick to the bottom/middle/top?
I was also wondering how you go about transporting them back home saftly, and legally?
And The last question is: do I need a fresh, or salt water licence?
Thanks for the info!

 

[BoyWonder]

hey ya you need a saltwater licence, the catch limit is somthing quite out of reach so no worries on that and for size there really isnt one. the water ranges from like 5 - 8 feet and there all over if there in on the correct tides

"A bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work"

 

[TelStar26]

Great! So The only other thing I was wondering, was the best way to transport them? I guess in a bucket with some water, and a lid?

 

[The Fish Assassin]

I have some fond memories off the craigflower bridge. One of the best fights I ever had on a rod and reel was off the bridge!!
Once I hooked up there was no stopping it, it spooled 200 yrds of line in about 10 seconds!! Best fight I have ever had!! But the guy driving the buick wasn't too happy.

quote:Great! So The only other thing I was wondering, was the best way to transport them? I guess in a bucket with some water, and a lid?

Ya that's fine.. Throw some ice in there too.

Take only what you need.

 

[Rum Buddies]

I think if you want it for bait, put them water - otherwise the dry bucket will pull a lot of scales off.

But don't get your hopes up, I tried pretty hard for the last few years and you'll get a few but not lots.

 

[fishspoon]

very few herring that I observed in recent years and I didn't fish at all. I was once stopped by fisheries officer at that bridge for the proof of fishing license.

 

[Little Hawk]

Howdy,

According to a Fisheries Officer I sold a truck to back in the late 80's, the herring that come up the Gorge spawn in Portage Inlet. He told me that DFO divers would make an annual dive in the inlet to do a 'row-count'. It would be my assumption that with all the cutbacks and the new pervasive DFO attitude - Who gives a flyin' fu#k about herring? - that they don't do this any more.

 

[bigragu]

A friend of mine was there the other day and managed to catch 6. The guy who did best caught 15. Best of luck.

 

[Highliner]

If you do catch some, do you have to do anything to them like starving them before freezing? How do you kill them? Just put them in the freezer? Do they make good salmon bait or are they better for hali?

Highliner

www.salmonboats.ca

 

[mason.jar]

How many weeks are you willing to give up in order to tend to your new found catch? As a sport caught herring you will never accomplish what the big bait processors do. However you can simply put them in your bucket, take them home and freeze them. They will be good to eat, and perfect for any halibut or ground fish. They will also catch salmon, but they will not be as pretty as the store bought stuff. Good luck! Mason

[www.savebcsalmon.ca]

 

[Sea Ranger]

Last summer I was lucky enough to troll through a bait ball twice but never got a strike so we went back through it with the net in the water and managed to pull in a full net of 6 inch herring. The holes in net were larger then the herring so 2/3 of the fish got out before we could pull it over the side of the boat. Still got over 350 of the little guys. I layed them out on cookie sheets in the freezer over night and then packaged them 12 to a pack for bait. I thought I would have bait for the rest of the year and I did use a lot of it up but I found that the guts would wear out fast on these fish. At first I thought I was getting strikes but soon realized their guts were prematurly rotting out probably because of the acids in their stomachs. So I too wonder if there is something that has to be done in order to stop this from happening cause I know the bait you buy in the store doesn't rot out like that. Does anyone know what the secret is?????

 

[Rum Buddies]

as Mason eluded to, the best bait is starved before freezing so the bellies shrink and don't blow out like you talked about.

i don't know what you could do in that case, halibut bait or cut-plug?

 

[The Fish Assassin]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last summer I was lucky enough to troll through a bait ball twice but never got a strike so we went back through it with the net in the water and managed to pull in a full net of 6 inch herring. The holes in net were larger then the herring so 2/3 of the fish got out

quote:before we could pull it over the side of the boat. Still got over 350 of the little guys. I layed them out on cookie sheets in the freezer over night and then packaged them 12 to a pack for bait. I thought I would have bait for the rest of the year and I did use a lot of it up but I found that the guts would wear out fast on these fish. At first I thought I was getting strikes but soon realized their guts were prematurly rotting out probably because of the acids in their stomachs. So I too wonder if there is something that has to be done in order to stop this from happening cause I know the bait you buy in the store doesn't rot out like that. Does anyone know what the secret is?????

I think the thing is, they take their herring for bait in November. The Herring's bellies are actually thicker at that time. Because a Herring doesn't die when it spawns it does loose almost all of its nutrients. The stomach walls become very thin when the bellies are in the spawning mode. I've found the only use for the Herring at this time of year is for their ROE. It is delicious. If you were able to catch a spawned out herring or one of the recruits that dosn't spawn till next year you would have a better chance of making it into proper bait. Also I think they use a formaldehyde solution to soak them in prior to freezing..? My cousin made a batch with a similar solution, they where all 12 inch Herring. I put one down at The Trap Shack and got a 37lbr. That was the biggest fish I'd caught before I went to Bamfield.

Take only what you need.

 

[Sea Ranger]

I'm going to try and get some herring.... jigging or with a dip net and just use it as halibut bait and not for salmon then I won't have to worry about the soft bellies. Might even be better using soft bellied bait for halibut.... I really don't know.
OK.... getting the bait is the easy part, Now I just have to figure out where to find halibut....lol.

 

[Sea Ranger]

I found this surfing the net.


A method for preserving fish bait comprising supplying fish bait and first immersing the bait in a first aqueous sterilizing solution wherein the concentration of said sterilizing solution which comprises an aqueous solution of formalin and the time of immersion in the solution are adjusted to prevent decay via bacterial action and to increase the hardness of the bait. The bait is then removed from the sterilizing solution and immersed in running water to remove substantially residual sterilizing solution which therein provides a hardened sterilized bait. The hardened and sterilized bait is then placed in a container which contains a sufficient amount of a second aqueous solution which comprises on aqueous to solution of a grain alcohol which prevents further bacterial and/or viral decay and which maintains the fish in a hydrated state for use as a bait product.