Rig a whole herring question

[pcorazao]

What type of hooks do I used to rig a whole herring, and do I brine it in anything before I put it on the hook?

Thanks,
-Pete

[onwhiskeycreek]

Not a real expert on this but here is what we have been doing this summer. I put 4 dozen herring in the little stanley bait cooler along with enough water to cover them and a cup of salt the day before we head out. We started out using helmets and did well with them. We had just run out of helmets and the new order was some where in never never land so I was looking for alternate ways of rigging whole herring.When Nelly posted about his upcoming trip to Hippa Lodge I was curious and googled it and came across info about the lodge and a video they had on Y tube on how to rig whole herring. It looked easy and the only thing we did different was to insert a tooth pick length wise to help set the bend. Went out the next morning and hooked 10 kings and managed to put 6 in the box, and it's been game on every since. We've been playing with our leaders and have been using Gamakatsu hooks. One set up is using a Big River hook on the back and a red octopus on the front hook, and the other is to use Big River on both hooks. So far they seem to be working out about the same. Been tying the leaders with a 3 1/2 spacing with 4/0 and using green label, and have been toying with the idea of increasing the hook spacing a little. Guys fishing down in your area probably have it dialed in a little better. So we are wanting to here what Nelly, Robbo and some of the other guys have going for their set ups that have it dialed in better. The best part is Linda says it's easy peasy and she has been hammering the Kings.

Gary

[Nelly]

When I use herring these days it's always and I mean ALWAYS brined in Pro-Cure Brine&Bite.
It's simply the best!
Give it a try sometime!