Herring charge Crescent City; Rogue steelies abound

An unidentified angler pulls in a herring Tuesday in the Crescent City harbor. Numerous anglers have been trying their luck jigging recently in the area. The Pilot/Larry Ellis

Last week’s fishing safari began when I received a phone call early last Monday from Captain Jim Bithell from Charthouse Sportfishing, telling me about a wide-open herring bite that was going on in Crescent City.

Herring invade Crescent Harbor every year around the middle of February to spawn in the harbor before continuing on their merry way. Pacific herring, unlike salmon, do not die after spawning. They are capable of multiple spawning trysts for several years.

Bithell’s been keeping scrupulous records of his herring jigging for the last few years and according to his data these baitfish are anywhere from 10 days to two weeks earlier than usual, possibly because of ongoing El Nino events.

That may possibly mean that the run could abate faster than usual, or on the other hand they may continue spawning a little while longer. All you can do is get out there and start jigging – and hope for the best.

Even though it rained half the time, that’s never stopped an Oregon beaver from building a dam, or a duck from flying. And since ducks usually fly in the worst possible weather conditions a little rain wasn’t going to stop me and a dozen other anglers from jigging for herring on Tuesday.

You’re probably asking yourself, “What’s the big deal about a little fish?”

There are several reasons. First, catching them is a kick in the pants – and you’re practically guaranteed something. Second, if you know how to pickle, smoke, can, or cook them right, they do make for some fantastic eating.

But I think most people were out there jigging for these super quality baitfish because we wanted to fill our freezers full of fresh lingcod bait, a bait that no self-respecting lingasaur can pass up.

Most herring you buy in the store have been starved in live pens so that their bellies are empty and tightened up, making for superior quality salmon bait.

These fish were full of roe and milt, so for the most part they were definitely going to be used for lingcod bait although there were a few spawned out males that had much firmer flesh than the females and would end up making some pretty good salmon bait.

It’s been a while since I jigged for herring so it took me a little while to get the hang of it. Before long I was bringing them in four at a time and filling my ice chest.

When you care for these fish, it is a good idea to bring along a medium-size ice chest. I have one of those roller type chests.

When you land a herring you want to do the best you can to keep them from flipping around so they retain all their scales. To do this I dump a bag of ice into the ice chest and cover the ice with a liberal amount of salt. Then I empty another bag of ice and cover that batch with another liberal amount of salt.

This quickly creates a slurry of freezing sea water. Once a herring touches this solution, it’s game over!

After I jigged about 3 dozen herring I made tracks for the barn and vacuum-packed them between two and three to a pack. Those Food Savers really are awesome!

The larger herring were vacuum-packed one to the bag. So now when I want a few prime baits to fish for lingcod with, all I have to do is grab a few select packages out of the freezer and I’m good to go.

High water didn’t stop steelhead anglers from fishing the Smith River last week and gave boaters an opportunity of fishing most days with most guides averaging about two fish per boat – some more, some less.

“We fished the Chetco for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and then went over to the Smith on Wednesday when the Chetco got high,” says guide Val Early of earlyfishing.com. “The Smith never stopped fishing at all last week.”

Val had fish in the boat every day. When the Chetco became clear it became a matter of fishing stealthy. Val tips:

“You gotta stay away from the fish. Anything above those fish spooks them – any fast movement spooks them – even boats floating over them spooks them. You have to stay as far away from them as possible when it’s clear and if you don’t know where they are then stay on the edges.”

Also wearing your lucky white fishing hat is not a good idea. Some guys will even don camo, but if you go this route, go all the way – don’t forget your face. An Under Armour face mask will keep your lily-white mug from scaring the fish.

The winter steelhead fishing on the lower Rogue last week has also been fair to good with John Anderson of memorymakersrogueriverguideservice.com having the hot stick.

“When the water was up last week the plunking was pretty good,” says Justin Storns from the Rogue Outdoor Store in Gold Beach. “John Anderson has been anchored up at the willows every day, consistently catching a few fish off the back of his boat.”

Sam Waller from Jot’s Resort in Gold Beach has also been hearing reports of fair-to-good winter steelhead fishing on the lower Rogue.

“I’ve been talking to guys saying they’ve been hookin’ between five and six fish a day, and John Anderson has really been getting ’em,” says Waller.

Anderson’s go-to plug on the Rogue’s darker-lit days has been a metallic gold Wiggle Wart with a black back, the old style before they were taken over by Brad’s.

“That metallic gold is really a nice color in this off-colored water,” notes Anderson.

Tight lines!