• Catching fish using herring as bait.dry salmon image by MAXFX from Fotolia.com
  
  Herring live in the temperate, shallow waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Ocean. The fish has an oily body and is often smoked and salted. Herring is used as bait for fish such as salmon. Experienced fishermen have many tips and tricks to get the most from their herring bait.
  
  

Colorful Bait

• If you brine your own herring bait, you can create a more colorful target for your fish to find. When brining your herring, add food-coloring as an additional ingredient. Keep in mind this dye can get all over your hands and you may wish to use towels and gloves.
  
  

Chlorinated Water

• Since chlorinated water may pass a chlorine smell onto the herring, you must compensate when brining herring. To brine herring properly, with chlorinated water from your area, you need one gallon of distilled water, four cups of rock or pickling salt, one cup of powdered milk and two tablespoons of a whitening agent. Add these items to a plastic container and add up to six dozen herring overnight. They can be refrigerated until you use them, up to six months.
  
  

Bait Time

• A herring lasts about 20 minutes in the water before it needs to be replaced. After this point, there is almost no scent left and it has very little chance of being taken. When reeling in bait, it is best to reel in one bait at a time, to keep as much of a scent trail in the water as possible.
  
  

Spinning Bait

• Salmon and other fish are more likely to snag a herring for bait if it spins, because it makes the herring look alive and less like the bait that it is. Create a plug cut herring (a spinning herring) by cutting the head off the herring bait with a compound angle (a diagonal from front to back and side to side) on the face before placing your hook. This will make the herring shine and spin, attracting more attention.
  
  

Choose Your Herring

• You can use bait herring in several different ways. Some fishermen use the full herring and others use herring steaks. Steaks tend to work better and release more of a scent into the water. If buying frozen herrings, be sure to check that they don't look freezer burned and there is no blood in the package. The ideal frozen fish is brightly colored, has clear eyes and most of its scales.