Gorge Herring Already?

[saltydawg]

For the last week a large flotilla of 60-100 Cormorants have been diving in herding formation in Victoria harbour. I've been watching them from my office buildings window. Same behaviour you see further up in the Gorge when the herring run in March.
Is it possible herring are staging a little early this year?
Also if the herring are there, do you think salmon would follow into the harbour???
Also, do you think the local harbour patrol would kind of frown on a guy trolling up and down in front of the Empress Hotel? I guess you couldn't exactly drop your trousers and use a pee bucket within smiling distance of the tourists in the Bengal Room eh?

I wonder how deep the water is there?

If I get inspired, maybe Wednesday I'll try it.

So if you see a 17' red Campion jigging or trolling of the Coho dock on Wednesday, don't call the cops. It's me.

[Mongoose]

well all of the fry herrings are coming out of the gorge. they have been exiting for about 4 weeks now. all of the winters ive caught their bellies are full of 2-3.5" herring. but in march all of the mature herring go in the gorge to mate.

[r.s craven]

larger of the 2 fish we had saturday had a gut full of 6" herring !!

[totally tyee]

Full swing is around the beginning of March each year. If there are any left.............

[victoriaboater]

Earliest I have pulled herring from the Admirals bridge is early February.

[Mongoose]

are you allowed to catch them with a net?

[wolf]

Learn to read the reg there mongoose!!!!!!


Wolf

[Mongoose]

hahaha...fine

[Poppa Swiss]

I was reading the other day and I think a dip net or cast net is ok for herring but I'd double check on that one.

I've never actually seen them spanning in the gorge but are they tight enough together that you could use a cast net? Anybody tried that?

[LastChance]

Not on the Gorge, but we had a big chunk of herring net we'd string between two fingers on the Cow Bay gvt warf as kids during the winter, they would blacken the water there. They are spooked easily and go FAST, so you would need a BIG damn net. We would wait untill they swam over, and pull the sides up quick. With a BIG HONKING chunk of net, we did ok.