cut plug herring

[Rum Buddies]

so the recent thread on cut plug rigs has got me thinking next season I might want to add cut plug herring to my arsenal.

I fish primarly sooke and primarly anchovy - are there any real pros to using cut plug herring vs. anchovy?

Basically I'd like to hear anybodies opinions on the use of cut plug herring vs. standard anchovy?

Does anybody on the board fish cut plug in sooke? It seems that Anchovy is pretty much the standard?

Maybe one of pros could write a little primer? I'm not that concerned about actual rigging but more on the actual fishing, like trolling vs. mooching, what type of structure works best etc.

 

[fishin_magician]

Well..anchovies are more durable due to the use of a teaser head, and that makes them work longer. You can also slow down the roll, and increase your trolling speed to cover more water, which is an advantage---cover more water, encounter more fish, etc...

Anchovies are not as messy, but due to being smaller, can attract more of the undesirable non legal sized fish.

Cut Plugs are quick to rig and don't respond well to higher speed use, however, a very well brined herring before being cut will stand up quite well. Cut plugs behind a ball or banana weight make for extremely fast turn around after landing a fish, or when sitting over a mass of bait, and will result in some phenomenal results.

I've cut plugged off riggers in Sooke, and they definitely give the fish something more to eyeball, and the action will still be deadly when you slow down your boat.

May I suggest the use of herring in Anchovy teaser heads or the various Rhys-Davis heads? You get a very good action, and the bait is somewhat larger, so they do stand up well, and don't soften like the anchovies are prone to, and in the event that a swipe is taken at it, it'll probably hold together better for the second strike.

Overall though, the use of each has a time and a place, and with the advent of downriggers and high speed trolling, anchovies definitely have the edge over the coast.

Personally, if I had my choice and there were more fish around, I wouldn't bother with anchovies---the only reason I use anchovies is that you can reduce bait expense, and troll faster.

Just a few thoughts. I'm sure you'll come to have a preference.

However, for late season springs, when a bait fishery is the order of the fishery, I'll take a herring any day over a 'chovy.