Who fishes for herring and shad in the winter?

[DarkSkies]

They ain't bass, but the hickory shad can get to be over 2#, and will jump a few times on light tackle. Great fun when the water looks dead as this guy :D

8631







Just throw on a sabiki rig, put on the right sinker for time and tide (usually 1/2 or 1 oz flat sinker, or even an Ava007 will do, especially if shad are around).

8632

8633




Toss it out, jig it up a little, stay away from the bottom. Depending on time and tide, they'll be in different levels of the water column. Generally I find them in the middle level, unless it's sunrise and they're feeding on small bait.

Great fun, and something to keep the kids occupied and stave off the winter boredom.

Who's fishin for em this winter? :D

[DarkSkies]

8634

8635

Alewife and Blueback Herring
Alosa pseudoharengus and Alosa aestivalis
(A.K.A. - River Herring, Alewives)
Key Distinguishing Markings:

Both alewife and blueback herring are silvery in color and have a series of scutes (modified scales that are spiny and keeled) along their belly.
However, the dorsal area of alewife are bronze in color whereas blueback herring are deep bluish green.
Alewife are more strongly compressed, deep, with their body is less elongated.
Alewife have a much larger eye than blueback herring.
The most distinguishing characteristic of these species is the color of their peritoneum or the lining of the abdominal cavity.
An alewife's peritoneum is pale with dusky spots.
A blueback herring's peritoneum is black to dusky in color.
Alewife and blueback herring are collectively termed "river herring" since in most instances, they are difficult to distinguish from one another.
Size:

Maximum length of a river herring is approximately 15 inches.
Distribution:

Alewife and blueback herring are relatively small anadromous fish of the family, Clupeidae. They spend their adult lives at sea and return only to freshwater areas to spawn in the spring.
Habitat:

Alewife spawn in a diversity of habitats that includes large rivers, small streams, ponds, and large lakes over a wide range of substrates such as gravel, sand, detritus, and submerged vegetation. In areas where alewife and blueback herring co-exist, blueback herring will exhibit more of a variety in their spawning sites including shallow areas covered with vegetation, in ricefields, in swampy areas, and in small tributaries upstream from the tidal zone.
Various studies have determined that river herring are capable of migrating long distances (over 1200 miles) in ocean waters of the Atlantic seaboard, and that patterns of river herring migration may be similar to those of American shad.
Spawning:

Alewife spawn in rivers and tributaries from northeastern Newfoundland to South Carolina, but are most abundant in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states.
Blueback herring spawn from Nova Scotia to northern Florida, but are most numerous in warmer waters from Chesapeake Bay south.
In the mid-Atlantic region, both alewife and blueback herring are found in Chesapeake Bay and in virtually all its' tributaries.
Alewife spawn from late February through April, whereas blueback herring spawn from late March through mid-May.
Females from both species usually reach 100% maturity by age 5 and produce from 60,000 - 103,000 eggs
Males of both species generally mature at an earlier age (ages 3-4) and smaller size than females.
Mature river herring broadcast their eggs and sperm simultaneously into the water and over the substrate.
Immediately after spawning, adults migrate rapidly downstream.
Juveniles will remain in freshwater nursery areas in spring and summer, feeding mainly on zooplankton. As water temperatures decline in the fall, most juveniles move downstream to more saline waters, eventually to the sea; however, some will remain in deeper waters of the Bay and its tributaries for their first winter.
Little information is available on the life history of subadult and adult river herring after they emigrate to the sea as juveniles, and before they mature and return to freshwater to spawn.
Fishing Tips:

Alewife and blueback herring support important commercial and recreational fisheries throughout their range. Since they are difficult to distinguish from each other, commercial catches refer to a combination of both species.
The fisheries for both these species have declined dramatically from historic highs.
Degradation and destruction of spawning habitat, construction of dams restricting their spawning migrations, and increased fishing pressure have all been major contributors to the decline of these stocks.
River herring are commercially harvested in directed fisheries in rivers and estuaries, and as bycatch in other ocean fisheries.
The principal gear used in the Chesapeake Bay river herring fishery has been pound nets, although, gill nets, haul seines, and fyke nets have also been employed.
In the past, the recreational fishery for river herring has been extensive in the tributaries of Chesapeake Bay during the early spring months.
Although some fish were captured using hook and line, most were harvested using dip nets.
Recreational catches of river herring have decreased dramatically since the mid-1970s.
Current management restrictions on river herring, see Maryland's updated regulation page (http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/regulations/regindex.html).
Fun Facts:

In 1931, over 25 million pounds of river herring were harvested, ranking them 2nd in quantity and 5th in value of all Chesapeake finfish, and 1st in quantity and 4th in value of all finfish landed in Maryland.
Alewife and blueback herring, like other alosine species (American shad and hickory shad) lay down spawning marks on their scales so that the number of times an individual fish has spawned in its lifetime is recorded on it's scale. Blueback herring (age 10) have been seen with as many as 5 and 6 spawning marks!
River herring are considered to be an important forage base for large predators, such as striped bass and bluefish.

AlewifeFamily: Clupeidae (Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens)Order: Clupeiformes (herrings)Class:Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Blueback Herring Family: Clupeidae (Herrings, shads, sardines, menhadens) Order: Clupeiformes (herrings) Class:Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
For more information on alewife and blueback herring and their management, please contact Jim Mowrer. (mata-fish-1@dnr.state.md.us)


www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishfacts/art/river_herring (http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/fishfacts/art/river_herring)

[DarkSkies]

If the kiddies are lookin at this thread, skip this one!

I was looking for herring rigs and came across these very effective spokesmodels, so of course I hadda put them in this thread. :lookhappy:

The sabiki saver, for those guys who use sabikis for offshore trips. ;)

8636


Attach the top of your sabiki rig, while still in its package, to the snap swivel this is tied to the line on your rod. Gently pull the rig out of its package.
Attach the stainless steel sinker-hook combo to the snap swivel on the bottom of the sabiki rig. (The sinker-hook combo is included withhttp://www.sabikisaver.com/Diana&Cocowebpage2.jpg (http://www.sabikisaver.com/photogallery.htm) the purchase of your Sabiki Saver)
Loosen the center locking collar of the Sabiki Saver and adjust its length to approximately one to two inches shorter in length than your rig. Only a quarter of a turn is needed to either tighten or loosen the center locking collar.
Holding the butt-end of your rod in one hand and the Sabiki Saver vertically in the other, lower the sinker-hook combo into the flanged top and lower it until it hits the bottom cross-member.
Jig the rig up and down a few inches to hook on the cross-member. With a little practice the sinker-hook combo will hook itself to the cross-member.
Once the sinker-hook combo is secured, pull the rig's line taut and secure in one of the notches in the flared top.
Release the snap swivel from the line on your rod and store your Sabiki Saver until you are ready to use.


Undo the rig from the notch in the flanged top of the Sabiki Saver and hook to the snap swivel that is attached to the line on your rod.
Jig the rig up and down with your rod and the sinker-hook combo will become free.
Pull the rig out of the Sabiki Saver and you are ready to cast and catch baitfish.
After you have filled your live well with baitfish, follow the loading instructions, rinse with fresh water and store for next use.
http://www.sabikisaver.com/howitworks.htm

[VSdreams]

You can get them in the pp inlet, have been there for 6 weeks now. Niiice bikinis!

[nitestrikes]

Magnolia has some herring as well, slow pick.

[finchaser]

They ain't bass, but the hickory shad can get to be over 2#, and will jump a few times on light tackle. Great fun when the water looks dead as this guy :D

8631







Just throw on a sabiki rig, put on the right sinker for time and tide (usually 1/2 or 1 oz flat sinker, or even an Ava007 will do, especially if shad are around).

8632

8633




Toss it out, jig it up a little, stay away from the bottom. Depending on time and tide, they'll be in different levels of the water column. Generally I find them in the middle level, unless it's sunrise and they're feeding on small bait.

Great fun, and something to keep the kids occupied and stave off the winter boredom.

Who's fishin for em this winter? :D


Remember your only allowed 3 hooks for herring by law

[DarkSkies]

OGB is right people. :thumbsup:
(Pssst, Fin, ya wanna please put up the whiting and ling size regs so people know that too, while I'm working on the Wally video? Thanks. :HappyWave:)

[finchaser]

there are none

[stripercrazy]

Herring seems a little spotty this year. They finally started catching them in a few areas I check out, but the numbers seem to be off. Love the spokesmodels, dark.

http://www.sabikisaver.com/Diana&Cocowebpage2.jpg (http://www.sabikisaver.com/photogallery.htm)

[DarkSkies]

Some more herring and shad pics for Speedy. Are these the ones you were talkiing about, bro?

Also, couldn't resist the chance to bump a thread that had such tasty bikini pics. :naughty:

[gjb1969]

i got bag full last night on the big river last night not as good as the other day but i still got them so not a bad night got some good bait for the boat trip i mite take for some blues mite go for some more today if i get the chance:fishing:as for going in the cold no way:(

[storminsteve]

Nice going gjb I would love to see some herring in the surf around nomoco.

[rockhopper]

Yeah nice catch gjb1969. We were fishing at Magnolia last year in the cold. The herring never really showed up in numbers. Now it sucks because they say we can't catch them at all. Not our fault they say it's the big trawlers.:burn:

[basshunter]

Steve, the herring about a mile off the beach now, and at an inlet a little futher south from Sandy Hook. Get your sabikis out if you want to pickle some.

[stormchaser]

They have been getting them off Canarsie too. Herring are in a lot of spots now.

[cowherder]

Thanks for the info dark, great thread!

[SurfPlug]

I've been fishing for them at the local pier here in the Long Island Sound. I don't like Magnolia and this local pier is just a few miles from me that produces herring. Earlier on we were catching shad, but they seem to have disappeared from the scene.

[williehookem]

This guy Pablo from Mama Mia was out with his kids in Dec, nice footage.
They use a "dodger" in front of the sabiki, very effective.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqID0EZFi2I

[surfwalker]

Thanks for posting that, enjoyed it much. Good times/good memories.

[jigfreak]

Summer hickories, they are all over now guys.
Try some inlets, or the pockets. Small teasers are what you want.