JEFF’S GUIDE

How to Brine Herring for Alaska Salmon Fishing

Jeff's Guide to Salmon Bait that Holds Up All Day

One of the most common and effective ways to fish salmon in Alaska is using a cut plug herring. Why use a cut plug herring? There are four main reasons why I like to use them:

  • It’s easy to get a good spin on them in the water
  • You can change the spin with the cut angle
  • It’s easy to rig
  • It works well for both trolling and mooching

Herring is what salmon typically eat in the wild anyway. I have tried all the latest gadgets and new fads over the last 30 years while salmon fishing in Alaska, but I always go back to a cut herring.

Choosing the Bait

Choosing the bait is critical. Salmon like fresh herring best, but if that’s not available to you, then purchase high quality frozen herring.

The key to buying frozen herring is to make sure the scales are still on and the herring doesn’t have red eyes. Stay away from vacuum packed herring; every tray I’ve tried has been soft with loose scales and just falls apart while salmon fishing.

Frozen trays of herring come in several common color coded sizes:

  • Red: Small
  • Green: Medium
  • Blue: Medium Large
  • Purple: Large
  • Black: Extra Large

Fishing around Ketchikan and Southeast Alaska in general, I find that the greens and blues accurately represent our wild herring populations, so that’s what I use. I’m not saying that salmon won’t hit a bigger herring, but remember your hook to meat ratio will be lower and you’ll get fewer hook ups per strike.

Brining Instructions

Brining the bait is essential if you’re using frozen herring and you want it to stay on the hook. A brined herring will start to harden within an hour and will keep refrigerated for a couple days. If you’re fishing a multi-day trip and you have some leftover herring, you can often get your herring to last one more day by freshening up the brine with more salt.

Here’s my top secret basic brine that I use on good quality bait at our fishing lodge in Southeast Alaska:

  • 1 gallon sea water
  • 2 cups of pickling salt

Yep, that’s it.

If you don’t have access to good quality bait, then try this common method:

  • 1 gallon sea water
  • 2 cups pickling salt
  • 1 cup powdered milk to firm the meat
  • 2 tbsp Mrs. Stuarts blueing to give it a shine
  • Optional: 2 tbsp anise or garlic oil for scent

If you’re using tap water in your herring brine, then you’ll want to double the amount of salt. Don’t use chlorinated tap water. I like using fine grained picking salt because it absorbs into the water; and therefore the herring faster than rock salt.