[Gern Blanston]

Do you high-grade your bait? Do you fish your best looking baits early when there are few takers so you have the best possible offering? Then fish marginal bait when there are more fish around? Or do you figure you waste baits early when there are no fish so you drag the dregs?

I fish my best baits at the peak of springer season and fish the sadder looking stuff early, then for ocean coho and fall fish. I know I’m overthinking it, but now think I might have it backwards 🤣

 

[Halibutt poker]

Doesn’t matter as long as there is a short bus flasher tied to it

 

[Something Good]

Good bait for springers. Not so good for ocean coho.

 

[PnwChrome]

Poor baits never reach my hook! Always fish best baits I can find, bait is cheapest part of this game.

 

[Beefcake]

Poor baits never reach my hook! Always fish best baits I can find, bait is cheapest part of this game.

Yep. SRU once told me, “There’s nothing more expensive than bad bait.”


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[Gern Blanston]

Poor baits never reach my hook! Always fish best baits I can find, bait is cheapest part of this game.

Agreed, but even in a quality case of herring you have some trays with broken seals, some trays may have some frost, some herring have more scales than other tray, etc.

 

[PnwChrome]

Agreed, but even in a quality case of herring you have some trays with broken seals, some trays may have some frost, some herring have more scales than other tray, etc.

If that happens they go into my crab pots

 

[Huntar2]

Springers always get my best bait.
Ocean Chinook would get some, but don't have to worry about this year's it may seem.
Ocean Coho get plastic. Personally I don't see a need for bait on ocean Coho, with a sometimes exception of a strip on a hootchie.

 

[Kirkll]

Agreed, but even in a quality case of herring you have some trays with broken seals, some trays may have some frost, some herring have more scales than other tray, etc.

Do you cure your herring in a brine?

Sometimes that brine can make the difference between good bait and bad.... If you have poor quality bait, use it for crabs.... No such thing as using poor quality bait in my boat...The odds are stacked against us anyway.....

I use by bests arrows for the toughest shots too.... Sometimes you only get one shot at it. Kirk

 

[Gern Blanston]

Do you cure your herring in a brine?

Sometimes that brine can make the difference between good bait and bad.... If you have poor quality bait, use it for crabs.... No such thing as using poor quality bait in my boat...The odds are stacked against us anyway.....

I use by bests arrows for the toughest shots too.... Sometimes you only get one shot at it. Kirk

I used to do a deluxe brine with anise, sometimes dye, but now just rock salt and filtered water.

 

[Gern Blanston]

I've got some high quality big greens, but like to fish smaller baits and found some Harbor Bait reds. Been fishing them so far, but they smell pretty fishy and poor scale quality. I think I'm going to switch to the higher quality greens. Quality over preferred size, I guess.

 

[PnwChrome]

I've got some high quality big greens, but like to fish smaller baits and found some Harbor Bait reds. Been fishing them so far, but they smell pretty fishy and poor scale quality. I think I'm going to switch to the higher quality greens. Quality over preferred size, I guess.

I too like fishing reds, this year we don't have any fresh reds, do not discount orange label they are fresh this year and fish just fine... few years back, orange is all I used, and yes I cut plugged them. But you can also use a anchovy cap if you wanted.

 

[eyeFISH]

Quality over preferred size, I guess.

AMEN!

 

[eyeFISH]

I too like fishing reds, this year we don't have any fresh reds, do not discount orange label they are fresh this year and fish just fine... few years back, orange is all I used, and yes I cut plugged them. But you can also use a anchovy cap if you wanted.

NOTHING swims better than an OldHarbor orange label herring... NOTHING!

 

[PnwChrome]

NOTHING swims better than an OldHarbor orange label herring... NOTHING!

100% truth

 

[DogZilla15]

I'll sort by size on the boat. Bigger is easier to get the right spin.

 

[Kirkll]

If you are going to drag herring behind a 360 flasher, the red or orange seem to work better. But I’ve always been a fan of the green label myself. I’ll be fishing both red and green this year, and have different length mooching rigs for each size. Kirk

 

[angelo pappas]

So, if you buy herring locally in stores are the green and orange going to be fresher than the reds? When would the reds have been processed versus orange and green?

 

[PnwChrome]

So, if you buy herring locally in stores are the green and orange going to be fresher than the reds? When would the reds have been processed versus orange and green?

No fresh reds available this year on West Coast, only larger like green and blue, just recently orange fresh have started showing up, if you find reds they are old bait..

 

[redneckty1]

I won't run ugly baits in the spring.

I save them for bottom fish/coho.


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