Herrings
Printed From: The Solent Fishing Forums
Category: Fishing Forums
Forum Name: Boat Talk
Forum Description: This forum is for anything related to local boat fishing
URL: http://www.solent-fishing-forums.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=5603
Printed Date: 22 April 2018 at 9:32am
Topic: Herrings
Posted By: Garrydog
Subject: Herrings
Date Posted: 20 March 2017 at 1:47pm
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Love eating herrings. See they catch them in Brighton and also west of us... Has anyone had any joy catching them round our neck of the woods? When might be the best bet? Any comments? J |
Replies:
Posted By: MadMackem
Date Posted: 20 March 2017 at 5:43pm
Have you had them 'Dutch style' ? Head and backbone removed like a 'flapper' bait. Hold the raw herring by the tail, tilt the head back and eat. Sounds horrible but it's delicious. ------------- Boat name MeMe; MMSI 235 086 284; Call sign 2ELL9 |
Garrydog wrote:Posted By: Salar
Date Posted: 20 March 2017 at 5:51pm
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The herring question interests me too. There are some good explanations of the stocks and migrations on the commercial fishing web sites. Mainly they are in the North Sea but there is an English Channel population at the eastern end, so we are on their west extremity. From memory they are around more in autumn and early winter, I'll have to look it up again. ------------- Harley 25 "Rebel Runner" web site www.boat-angling.co.uk |
Posted By: Moonshinepete
Date Posted: 20 March 2017 at 6:36pm
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I've had them in April/May in recent years ------------- Moonshine Charters |
Posted By: Garrydog
Date Posted: 20 March 2017 at 8:36pm
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MadMeckem iremember seeing people eating herrings as you say on holiday in holland as a kid. Also they did it with flatfish too. Moonshine Pete did you get inshore or further out. I guess it's using small sabikis? Salar saw a report with someone catching them in Cornwall a couple of weeks back. Pretty sure they get them in Brighton in the next month or so. J |
Posted By: Osprey Oldman
Date Posted: 20 March 2017 at 9:03pm
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Have you had them 'Dutch style' ? Head and backbone removed like a 'flapper' bait. Hold the raw herring by the tail, tilt the head back and eat. Sounds horrible but it's delicious. [/QUOTE]
Yes, unfortunately! I used to work for a Dutch company and went across quite frequently. On a couple of occasions I got my timing wrong and arrived on the opening of the Herring season. They make a huge thing of it so I had to join in. Despite the ample coatings of raw onion with them they still tasted horrible! (but that's just my taste I guess) couldn't help thinking it was a waste of good bait! But soused or pickled? ..... Now you're talking!
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Posted By: Garrydog
Date Posted: 20 March 2017 at 9:33pm
| I like them smoked but also as the Swedish do, coats in oatmeal and fried along with redcurrants and mashed potatoes with lashings of butter! |
Posted By: Osprey Oldman
Date Posted: 20 March 2017 at 11:31pm
| Right then. Just got to catch a few! |
Posted By: Moonshinepete
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 8:18am
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I've had them in the Solent, on the Cuba Bank and in the Looe Gate area. ------------- Moonshine Charters |
Posted By: Ahab
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 9:55am
| were they red by any chance pete lol |
Posted By: Salar
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 11:59am
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I have caught them only occasionally and always as a by-catch when after mackerel, so not surprisingly only caught when mackerel are about. I have been trying to find out more about their migration patterns so I know when it is worth targeting them but because they are not around in commercially viable numbers in our area the scientists don't seem to write about them much. I suspect there are more around in the autumn and winter because that is when the sprats are around but there seems to be enough around at other times for some to end up being caught. Problem is they need tiny sabiki rigs and in mackerel times those rigs get ripped by mackerel. What we need is tiny sabikis tied to heavier mono. Looks like I may have to make my own. ------------- Harley 25 "Rebel Runner" web site www.boat-angling.co.uk |
Posted By: Moonshinepete
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 3:21pm
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Herrings are a very oily fish and suffer from a lot of wind so look for oil slicks and bubbles....... ------------- Moonshine Charters |
Posted By: Ahab
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 3:24pm
| they actually sound like Russian subs under water |
Posted By: MONKEY NUTS
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 4:04pm
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had plenty in the solent amongst the mackerel. just need smaller feathers to pick them out. ------------- ARVOR 20 Name:- Quirky |
Posted By: Salar
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 4:51pm
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Looks like a project for the windy weekend coming up. Making tiny lures on heavier mono. ------------- Harley 25 "Rebel Runner" web site www.boat-angling.co.uk |
Posted By: Garrydog
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 5:15pm
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Definitely something to try... List this year Gilthead bream ( again!), squid ( again!!) and now herring. On the sabiki front how small is small? All this talk of seafood is making me 😋 J |
Posted By: solentraider
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 6:38pm
| You can make your own Herring rigs using Silver Butcher flies with size 10 hooks. Better than Sabikis and can be tied in good quality fluorocarbon. Other small trout flies will also work. I have caught Herrings on Garfish rigs from the shore as well on Chesil. A 6 foot paternoster with 3 hooks fished off the bottom would certainly work from the boat. Use 12lb fluoro for the main body and 3 - 5lb for the hooklengths. Best hooks are Kamassan B541 in size 10, they are spade ends and extremely sharp, they handle Mackerel and Gars so will be fine for Herring. Bait with very thin slivers of fish about half inch long. Small bits of foam above the hook will help. |
Posted By: Ahab
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 8:44pm
| That's me out then with bloody. Fingers |
Posted By: rag & stick
Date Posted: 21 March 2017 at 10:51pm
| Ray no need for tiny hooks and tackle tow a bl--dy great big net around you bound to get some. |
Posted By: Osprey Oldman
Date Posted: 04 April 2017 at 6:33pm
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Big shoals of Herring reported in and just outside Poole Harbour, so there should be some in the east I guess. Martyn
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Posted By: Garrydog
Date Posted: 04 April 2017 at 9:35pm
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Thanks Martyn! Typically just away for a couple of weeks and boat out of the water... Hopefully they will wait for my return 😊 Johnny |
Posted By: Salar
Date Posted: 08 April 2017 at 6:54pm
Intended to go out first thing so I suffered a cold night in the cabin only to discover at 6.30 it was thick fog again. At 9.30 it finally lifted a bit so I ventured out. Wasted a couple of bite-less hours at the Blocks then started drifting. I was seeing a lot of fish on the fishfinder and experimented with different lures from launce sabikis all the way up the Fiish minnows (because I know bass shoal there). Turns out they were herring. I finally cracked a method and managed to land 17. Very happy! ------------- Harley 25 "Rebel Runner" web site www.boat-angling.co.uk |
Posted By: Osprey Oldman
Date Posted: 08 April 2017 at 7:43pm
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Brilliant! What a result. Well done Neville. Heard yesterday of a commercial boat that caught £600k's worth of Herring and Pilchard in four weeks, just off Falmouth. Looks like there's a lot of baitfish around.
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Posted By: Garrydog
Date Posted: 08 April 2017 at 9:10pm
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What was the secret method Neville? Been watching leopards in Kruger today but still wish I could catch a herring!, J |
Posted By: r2d2
Date Posted: 08 April 2017 at 9:28pm
| They look tasty. Get them on the charcoal. |
Posted By: Ahab
Date Posted: 09 April 2017 at 12:26pm
| Well done nev good bag there |
Posted By: Salar
Date Posted: 09 April 2017 at 1:07pm
I put the method on my web site (latest Catch Report) so it's no secret any more! The trick is finding the right size sabiki and then being gentle and quick when you hook up otherwise they come off. Two grilled for breakfast this morning with scrambled egg (River Cottage) and then a Mediterannean BBQ this evening because, as I found out today, small herring are in fact sardines! Wife doesn't like herring (too bony) but likes sardines (trendy) so I have told her these are large sardines. Compared to the days-old herring in the fish market these are very firm to the touch. Lovely. ------------- Harley 25 "Rebel Runner" web site www.boat-angling.co.uk |
Posted By: Ahab
Date Posted: 09 April 2017 at 6:30pm
| Nice one enjoy |
Posted By: solentraider
Date Posted: 09 April 2017 at 8:43pm
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Well done. Nice bag of tasty fish. I am going to target them next weekend if the weather plays ball. I think an LRF rod will be ideal with 3 or 4 sabikis and a very small pirk (5 - 10 grams) as a weight. The LRF rods have very soft tips which should help. The rods I have are rated to 15 grams casting so very light and 6lb braid on the reels, should be fun. I will put a 3 hook Garfish rig out on another rod mid water and just drift. At least I will get some some bait that way. There are quite a few gars showing, I had 3 yesterday whilst not catching Bream on Bullocks. The same rig will probably get Herring as well. Probably a lot more interesting than Plaice fishing at the moment and something to do until the Bream show properly. ------------- Garfish II, Beneteau Antares 620, Call sign MARK5 |
Posted By: Salar
Date Posted: 09 April 2017 at 9:22pm
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I have done a bit more research on-line to supplement what I discovered. Herring tend to favour mid water or higher. The lure movement needs to be gentle, in fact the rocking of the boat is probably enough. Unlike mackerel they are not feeding on fleeing baitfish, instead they are feeding on larvae of crustaceans that don't swim fast. Once hooked keep pressure on, any slack and they come off. As soon as they reach the surface swing them up and into the boat, otherwise they will come off. As you may have guessed, they have a tendency to come off! Good luck. ------------- Harley 25 "Rebel Runner" web site www.boat-angling.co.uk |
Posted By: solentraider
Date Posted: 09 April 2017 at 10:12pm
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The hooks on the Sabikis (and all other pre-tied feathers) all seem to be quite a heavy gauge which means a large hole and less likely to penetrate bone. The Kammassan B541 are a very light weight, thin, wide gape and very sharp hook. As they are spade ends I think it will be quite easy to knock up some home made sabikis using them. I will knock some up on Saturday and give them a go. Will post pictures. ------------- Garfish II, Beneteau Antares 620, Call sign MARK5 |
Posted By: Salar
Date Posted: 10 April 2017 at 9:33am
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Size 6 does the trick. If you are trying to match the hatch, google crab larvae. Don't go to light because if you hit mackerel you will be ripped up. ------------- Harley 25 "Rebel Runner" web site www.boat-angling.co.uk |
Posted By: Salar
Date Posted: 12 April 2017 at 11:01pm
The rest were pickled and I can report, home pickling works and if you like pickled herring, they are very good. I have put the recipe http://arfordbooks.co.uk/2017/04/12/swedish-pickled-herring/" rel="nofollow - here : ------------- Harley 25 "Rebel Runner" web site www.boat-angling.co.uk |