| Herring Video Links |
| Info Links |
| There are two different types of herring that migrate into the Hudson River each Spring, though they are often difficult to distinguish from each other. Some people residing along the Hudson, Delaware and Roanoke rivers put them both into one category, referring to them simply as "river herring". Herring, like American Shad and the Striper, are anadromous. They are born in brackish water, live most of the year in salt water, then return to fresh water each Spring in order to spawn. The Alewife Herring (Alosa pseudoharengus) has a range from Labrador to South Carolina and is the first to enter fresh water tributaries off the Atlantic to spawn. It has a lifespan of 10 years and grows to a length of 14 inches. The Blueback Herring(Alosa aestivalis) has a range from Nova Scotia to Florida and prefers water that is 8-10 degrees F warmer to spawn, coming a bit later each Spring. It has a lifespan of 7-8 years and grows to a length of 13 inches. Females of both types are mature @ 4 years and produce 60,000 - 300,000 eggs. Herring are a very important food fish for many of the larger fish and other marine inhabitants of the Atlantic Coast. The differences in appearance of the two is in the depth of the body (Alewife's being deeper), the diameter of the eye (Alewife's being bigger), and the color of the internal cavity (peritoneum)Blueback's being black and Alewife's being gray. |
Striperchum.com
| ***Check your local fishing regulations in regard to harvesting bait fish to ensure that it is permitted in the area in which you fish. Many states have placed a moratorium on fishing for herring as a bait fish due to their diminishing numbers in those areas. Here in New York, harvesting bait fish (including herring) is permitted,(with permit for larger sized nets) but it must remain in the same body of water from which it was harvested. In other words, harvested bait fish cannot be transported via motor vehicle to a different location. Harvested bait fish can only be transported if it is to be used for consumption, has been salted and certified, or transported by boat or foot. **See Ziffy's Video Links to left on how to make and use a scap net and livewell to catch and hold herring! |
| Herring are one of the best baits to use for catching stripers . . . if not the best bait! Herring can be lured close enough to catch with a hoop or scap net by using a skirted spinner or a wobble-tail look-alike. By throwing the lure into deeper water, allowing it to drop, then slowly reeling it in, herring will eventually follow it thinking that the lure is on its way to some kind of spawning orgy. Bring the lure over a net that is held low in the water, then lift the net to snare the prize. The wider the hoop of the net, the greater the chances of success. **Large nets (any dip or scoop net over 14" around or any scap over 16 sq. ft.)require a permit in the Hudson River in the state of N.Y. Using nets for herring in embayments and creeks leading off of the main river are forbidden. (Check regulations) We here at striperchum.com use a short rod for this purpose (even an old broken one at half-length) because short rods are more manageable when the herring are at your feet and you are trying to net them without getting the rod tip caught up. See suggested lures for herring below. |
| Herring can also be caught by jigging, using a Sabiki rig. Herring feed on small zooplankton, and tiny insects floating in the water. They basically swim with open mouths through water that looks to contain shiny, glittering particles. They sift the tiniest living crustaceans and insects from the water like gill rakers. They will hit a bare gold #6 hook if it is glittering! So, sunny days produce better than cloudy ones. Sibiki rigs often come packed with six(6) hooks. Only five(5) hooks per line are permissible in N.Y. state, so cut one off if it has six. Some Sabiki rigs come with tiny red or green beads adhered to the hook. We find that the green color produces better than the red under most conditions and a #6 or #8 hook does the trick. It is advisable to carry a pair of pliers in the boat when jigging, making the removal of a herring from the ultra-sharp hooks easier. We here at striperchum.com suggest attaching a metal nut (which can be found laying around the garage - instead of buying weights) to the bottom of the Sabiki rig to bring it as close to the bottom as possible, then bounce it lightly just off bottom where herring are known to congregate. (Expect to snag bottom now and again) This is why we also suggest that you attach the nut with a very thin rubber band. If the rig gets snagged, you can usually jiggle it free due to the expanding and retracting ability of the band. If it is snagged permanently, pull on the line with steady pressure and the band will usually break, salvaging the Sabiki rig, with the band & nut being the only gear lost.) |
| There is another herring residing along the Atlantic coast known as the Hickory Shad (Alosa mediocris). This herring type is not known to frequent the Hudson River, but can be caught in tributaries off of the Long Island Sound on chartreuse twister tails. Linesiders love Hickory Shad also, when feeding in the summer months along the coast. Hickory shad grow bigger than the Alewife and Blueback. It is grayish green on top fading to a silvery color on the sides with a dark spot on the shoulder, often followed by several less distinct dark spots. The lower jaw projects beyond the upper jaw making it distinguishable from the American Shad. The Hickory shad itself has become quite a sought after gamefish in various parts of the U.S. Menhaden or Bunker, also known as the Pogy(Brevoortia tyrannus) is the shortest in the herring tribe. It is also the most short-lived. It's head is almost a third of its length and it is of wide body, which makes it easily distinguishable from other herring types. It is very oily, making it offensive to humans, but a delicacy to hungry stripers. It is an integral part of the food chain between zooplankton and larger fishes, with bluefish, Spanish mackerel, tuna, and sharks also feeding on them. Herons, egrets, ospreys and eagles also dine on them. Menhaden, unlike the other members of the herring family, spawn in salt water rather than brackish. They do seek out less saline water during their first year of life however (like the Chesapeake Bay). |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |