Herring ball yesterday

[Lewy]

Hi Guys, saw a lot of bird action fishing yesterday off Beechey and ran across a herring ball. I had a dip net on board and scooped up a pile of them with just one dip - these guys are pretty small, -maybe only 3", so I'm thinking now maybe too small to rig or at least no idea to rig them for trolling? I froze them last night when we got home just not sure what to do with them LOL.

BTW got a few Coho, a Spring and what I think is a mackerel, it's about 20" long, sort of an iridescent silver, with a kind of bony area about 5" long each side of the tail ..was that a mackerel?

oh yeah, fog was thick in the bay yesterday, thank god for the chartplotter or we'd have been going round in circles

 

[chris73]

You'd better had left the small herring alone. There isn't much you can do with them and after thawing they will be super soft and fall apart.

What you have caught is a jack mackerel. Delicious in many ways. Port Renfrew is full of them right now.

 

[Lewy]

You'd better had left the small herring alone. There isn't much you can do with them and after thawing they will be super soft and fall apart.

What you have caught is a jack mackerel. Delicious in many ways. Port Renfrew is full of them right now.

ok thanks!

 

[seafarer]

One option is to use a teaser head or a bait head with a hook, and carefully thread the herring onto it.

 

[Charleygirl]

They are specifically called a Pacific Chub Makerel. Not that great on the bbq but awesome smoked...

 

[Lewy]

They are specifically called a Pacific Chub Makerel. Not that great on the bbq but awesome smoked...

I gave it to a chef friend he said it is a favourite with the Japanese people and he knows how to prepare it - I think he mentioned shashimi

 

[Charleygirl]

I gave it to a chef friend he said it is a favourite with the Japanese people and he knows how to prepare it - I think he mentioned shashimi

My wife is Japanese and she loves them!

 

[Brett83]

With the 3 inch herring. I'd brine them and try using a metal rod on the teaser head. They might be too soft as mentioned above. If they do work you may find they won't roll properly. But you never know.

 

[Deepaaaar]

You could also use the small herring to catch flounder and the like. Drop them to the bottom in Whirl Bay this fall. Usually lots of flounder and sometimes juvenile sablefish. The winter chinook will take 'em down there, too, of course.

 

[Lewy]

You could also use the small herring to catch flounder and the like. Drop them to the bottom in Whirl Bay this fall. Usually lots of flounder and sometimes juvenile sablefish. The winter chinook will take 'em down there, too, of course.

Thanks so much, will definitely try that!!

 

[profisher]

If you are going to scoop any amount of bait beyond what you can use up that day you should only take it if you are already prepared for it. This means for it to stay in any useable condition where it won't immediately have the guts fall out of it once thawed...you have to stop fishing and get it heading to a freezer asap. Have empty bait trays ready so you can lay them out straight...glaze them and into a freezer...keep adding a few layers of glaze...once semi frozen (if you have one) I then vacuum pack them....being semi frozen prevents them from getting squished by the process. Then into the freezer to to finish freezing.

 

[Lewy]

With the 3 inch herring. I'd brine them and try using a metal rod on the teaser head. They might be too soft as mentioned above. If they do work you may find they won't roll properly. But you never know.

Pretty small for any of my teasers and my buddy suffers from FFS so no help there

 

[Lewy]

If you are going to scoop any amount of bait beyond what you can use up that day you should only take it if you are already prepared for it. This means for it to stay in any useable condition where it won't immediately have the guts fall out of it once thawed...you have to stop fishing and get it heading to a freezer asap. Have empty bait trays ready so you can lay them out straight...glaze them and into a freezer...keep adding a few layers of glaze...once semi frozen (if you have one) I then vacuum pack them....being semi frozen prevents them from getting squished by the process. Then into the freezer to to finish freezing.

I'll probably just salt them down when they thaw and use them as flounder bait as Deepaaaar suggests

 

[eroyd]

To small to fish livies that would be deadly on salmon. Nutritious blender drinks?

 

[RiverBoy]

ok thanks!

or use it for ling bait. hali bait. trap bait.

 

[chris73]

They are specifically called a Pacific Chub Makerel. Not that great on the bbq but awesome smoked...

No, its not a Chub Mackerel, the chubs only get 10" long or so and they don't have the rough tail part that he describes which the Jack Mackerel has.
And the jack mack is awesome on the BBQ.

 

[tubber]

Alex C has a minnow teaser for little bait.

Trachurus symmetricus (Ayres, 1855) jackmackerel

 

[Tips Up]

If you are going to scoop any amount of bait beyond what you can use up that day you should only take it if you are already prepared for it. This means for it to stay in any useable condition where it won't immediately have the guts fall out of it once thawed...you have to stop fishing and get it heading to a freezer asap. Have empty bait trays ready so you can lay them out straight...glaze them and into a freezer...keep adding a few layers of glaze...once semi frozen (if you have one) I then vacuum pack them....being semi frozen prevents them from getting squished by the process. Then into the freezer to to finish freezing.

Quite a process. No wonder they are so expensive. LOL

 

[profisher]

Quite a process. No wonder they are so expensive. LOL

Commercially caught bait especially anchovies go through even more. Once penned they are starved for about 2 weeks to empty their digestive track and to shring their belly...which can droop down similar to a big ling cod. The empty digestive system prevents belly rot once thawed and the shrunk up belly gives you a better shaped bait to roll.

 

[Haverodwilltravel]

Mackeral are unreal. They are tasty and healthful. The fish oil is essential for nutrition.

Try butterflying them and pan frying with just salt and pepper.

You have never tasted anything so good