Sea Herring
Sea Herring form huge schools and are always in motion, feeding on plankton as they swim through the ocean.
About Sea Herring
Sea Herring are more correctly called Atlantic Herring, but we fishermen always call them sea herring. They are the most abundant species of fish on the planet. They are much different than river herring; spawning and spending their whole lives in the ocean. You won't find them in fresh water rivers. Sea herring grow larger than river herring, reaching a length of 17 inches and a weight of 1.5 pounds, but most that we find near are shores average about 6 inches in length.
Sea herring can be found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and have an extensive range that covers most north Atlantic waters. They are especially prevalent in the Gulf of Maine. Sea herring feed mostly on plankton. They congregate together in huge schools, consisting of thousands and hundreds of thousands of individual fish. These schools traverse the open ocean, keeping constantly in motion, cruising in order to intercept plankton.
In a recent year, when the striped bass fall migration reached northern New Jersey, they met huge schools of sea herring. As the water temperatures were relatively mild, the striped bass lingered there, feeding on sea herring for several weeks and well into January.
Charter Captains in that area had many happy customers as they, day-after-day, found good fishing for striped bass around the schools of sea herring.
Sea herring are not nomally fished live, rather striper fishermen use lures that imitate sea herring. Such lures should be long and slender, with a light or silver color. These might include needlefish lures, swimming lures and poppers. Also metals, like long slender Hopkins with bucktail on the hook, would be good choices.
Storm WildEye Live Herring
The Storm Swim Shad Series includes a long slender model, The WildEye Live Herring, that closely imitates a sea herring.
Follow this link to see about: River Herring