Herrings frige life

[ING]

I have some herring left from Dec 2010.
It was placed it the brine - salt with baker soda, vacuumed and saved in the refrigerator (freezer compartment). Some packages has lost vacuum.
What do you think: is it still good for salmon trolling?
Thank you

[Robbo]

Herring that's been in the freezer for that long gets a funk to it that salmon don't find appealing. I'd toss it and get some fresh bait ING

[Dan Carney]

Naw, it sounds like crab bait to me....

[Nelly]

It's a bummer dude but it's crab bait now.
Get an old-school hand-crank meat grinder and grind that stuff up!
If you look close on Deadliest Catch, you'll often see the Greenhorns dumping frozen herring into a big, electric grinder.
That's what they put into the bait jugs an hang in the traps,
Try grinding your old herring up frozen and putting it directly into your bait jugs.
Dump some Pautzke's Shrimp & Crab Fuel on your frozen grindings and put the mixture right back in the freezer.
On opening day of crab season, you'll be ahead of the game and ready with your pre-prepped "baitsickles"...