interest in cisco (herring) fishing

[McGinnis_Fishing 49]

Thanks alot iceman! Ive been told sweedish pimples so i bought a few to try. Is there any colours that work better then other?

[Weekend coaster 15]

Thanks alot iceman! Ive been told sweedish pimples so i bought a few to try. Is there any colours that work better then other?

Hello

For Swedish pimples I use the very large sized ones in red for herring and steelhead love them too

[McGinnis_Fishing 49]

Thanks!

[Weekend coaster 15]

Thanks!

No problem

[Jared720 10]

Here's a good recipe for pickled herring.

Mix 1/2 cup of salt and 1 1/2 cup vinegar. Pour over herring filets that have been skinned. Make sure brine covers the fish, otherwise duplicate ingredients. Refrigerate for 6 days stirring every day.

On day 7, Take fish out, drain and rinse thoroughly. Cut into small pieces.

Combine fish with a cut up onion, 2 parts white port wine, 1 part vinegar and 2 parts sugar. Make sure the wine and vinegar cover the fish, otherwise duplicate the ingrediants.

Combine in a cheesecloth bag, 1 Tablespoon each of whole allspice and pickling spice. Add to fish and let sit for a few days for the best flavor.

Enjoy!

Jared

[Jared720 10]

Here's another recipe, this time for smoked fish. I have had good luck with this recipe with not only herring, but also whities, lakers and salmon.

• Brine:
  
• ¾ cup honey (I use white clover honey)
  
• 10 allspice berries
  
• 2 bay leafs
  
• ½ cup sea salt
  
• 4 oz rum (Captain Morgan's)
  
• 15 peppercorns
  
• 10 cloves
  
• ¼ cup lime juice
  
• 1 quart water
  
• 2 lbs. of skin on filets
  

Soak for 12 hours

When smoking, I have always used green tag alder and have had the best luck. Typically I smoke until medium well with anything other than salmon. Salmon I smoke until medium since it cooks alot faster than other species.

Enjoy!

Jared

[Mr. Canoehead 69]

Here's a good recipe for pickled herring.

Mix 1/2 cup of salt and 1 1/2 cup vinegar. Pour over herring filets that have been skinned. Make sure brine covers the fish, otherwise duplicate ingredients. Refrigerate for 6 days stirring every day.

On day 7, Take fish out, drain and rinse thoroughly. Cut into small pieces.

Combine fish with a cut up onion, 2 parts white port wine, 1 part vinegar and 2 parts sugar. Make sure the wine and vinegar cover the fish, otherwise duplicate the ingrediants.

Combine in a cheesecloth bag, 1 Tablespoon each of whole allspice and pickling spice. Add to fish and let sit for a few days for the best flavor.

Enjoy!

Jared

Thanks Jared I'm going to try that if I get some herring this year!

The best lure I've used for herring is a tiny gold spoon they sell at DNR. I forget what it's called but it has the single hook built into it so it's all one piece. It's small enough that you need to use light line to make it flutter as it drops. Me and my buddy got 18 herring in about 20 mins one time using that.

[Jared720 10]

@ Canoe,

18 herring in 20 minutes sounds like a fabulous time, something I wish I could experience! Not familiar with the jig you are talking about, but something like that tipped with one of those small rubber white eggs with a tiny tail on it would probably yield quite a few fish. Then again if that jig is so light, maybe a tiny rubber egg would prevent the jig from it's intended action due to the extra weight.

All this talk about catching herring and processing them is really giving me the itch to get my butt up there in February over holiday!!!

One thing I am curious about is if anyone has ever canned herring without prior smoking (kippers)? I pressure can my lakers and salmon, sometimes smoke them, then can them with added olive oil, but I wonder if you can straight herring chunks??? Anyone try this?

Thanks!

[gsambray 172]

I tried whitefish this year and turned out awesome. Did it with pickling salt vinegar and tomato soup. Cook for long time in canning pot and tastes great

[Jared720 10]

Was the whitefish flesh firm? Sounds delicious! Never heard of the tomato soup trick for fish, just heard of using ketchup in canned goose/venison. I may have to try this on herring and the whities, that is if I catch any

I do my own salmon/trout kipper snacks with the above smoking recipe, then add olive oil so the fish doesn't dry out too bad when canning. Turns out wonderful, sweet with the honey/rum carmelized in the flesh and also salty.

[gsambray 172]

This is what I did.

Places pieces of raw fish in pint size sealer jars. In each jar add:

1 teaspoon pickling salt

Dash of black pepper

3 tablespoons of vinegar

3-4 tablespoons of tomato soup

I use no name brand soup. Campbells doesnt seem to work as good. Amount of salt can be less if wanted.

Tighten jars tight and turn back quater turn. Place jars in large pot and cover with water. Make sure the top of the jars are completely covered by the water. Bring to a boil. Boil at a slow boil for 5 hours. Remove jars from water and tighten lids. Let cool completely and jars will seal. When cooled, open up a jar, drain it and I mix with mayo and make a killer sandwich.

Enjoy!

[sinker7 114]

I use they same recipe for lakers, salmon, pike and whitefish. It tastes great! And yes Jared720, the whitefish flesh stays firm. Instead of tomato soup I just use tomato juice. Gsambray, I would highly recommend investing in a pressure cooker. Instead of 5 hours of boiling a pressure cooker set at 10lbs will have the job done in 90 minutes. A question for Jared720....the smoked fish with olive oil sounds interesting. Can you elaborate? Thanks.

[Jared720 10]

Sinker7,

First I smoke my fish (salmon) so it is about rare- medium rare with considerable moisture between the flakes. Oily fish (lakers) will need to be smoked a little longer. The key is retaining moisture in the fish when smoking and you don't want it cooked 100% through. If you smoke your fish so it's flakes off in dry pieces, then I wouldn't can it. No amount of olive oil will add all of the moisture back to the fish.

Once the filets have cooled from the smoker, I then cut off chunks that are easy fit through my wide mouth jars and pack the jars accordingly leaving at least 1/2" between the top of the jar and the fish. Then I add 1 tablespoon of high quality olive oil to each pint of smoked fish for extra moisture. I keep the pressure at 10 psi and can for 90 minutes. The key is to still cook the fish in the canner, not to just seal the lid.

There is alot of trial and error with smoking and canning fish. I have had smoked fish in the can that was practically jerky and yes it tasted ok, but the texture just was offensive to me due to how dry it was. I have also had smoked smelt in the can that was on the other end of the spectrum, very mushy which was better suited as a sandwich spread than eating with a fork out of the jar.

I hope this helps!

Jared

[Jared720 10]

I forgot to ask, are there any current herring reports that people care to chime in on, notably in the Nipigon Bay area?

[pastor norm 125]

Thanks for the recipes! Gonna try them for sure.