By Don Daniels
I think the herring spawn over the past few weeks had locals gathering the silver fish from Campbell River to Zeballos and south to Qualicum Bay.
Fishing guides gathered herring to keep for halibut bait and some people just got out to harvest a few buckets and make pickled herring for the family. To pickle, herring need to be scaled but for bait you keep the scales on. Vinegar doesn’t dissolve those pesky little scales when pickling.
Fillet the herring and layer them in a glass container with pickling salt. That way you don’t have to worry about turning or stirring them. Its important that they do not clump, there needs to be salt touching all surfaces. You end up going through quite a bit of pickling salt but the fillets firm up very nicely.
You can make the vinegar brine the same day then when you are ready to pickle them, keep them nice and cold in the fridge. No need to let them sit and dry, layer them in the jar and pour the vinegar brine over top. The onions are not just for flavor, they are also important as spacers, so the fillets don’t clump and get properly brined with the vinegar which preserves them. If you keep them too long, they will get mushy as they absorb too much liquid again.
It might be a good idea to work in small batches if you are just starting out, it will allow you to experiment with the recipe. You can buy bulk pickling spice or you can check food stores in the international food aisle.
When you fillet the herring, save the eggs and fry them in bacon grease and enjoy. The same with the milt, or leave that with the heads and spines, freeze on a cookie sheet individually and your dogs will love them as popsicles. If you are inclined to harvest a bucket of herring for pickling, it’s a good idea to transport the herring home in salt water, that way they will not harden and you can scale away with ease when you get home.
On Sunday, March 19, I had a chance to tag along with Dave Fife on his boat and the herring balls in Area 13 were everywhere in water ranging from 190 to 250 feet. The winter springs were being a bit picky that day but a number of undersized were caught and released along with a few lings that were released. There are signs of dogfish at the bottom along with ling and rock fish.
A few crab pots were set in place and six were brought home. This was my first time getting out in March this year and hopefully, I can get out later this year and hook into a good size Chinook. It’s always a pleasure to see local guys like Dave Fife get out there and enjoy salmon fishing, and seeing other anglers experience the salmon fishing experience around Campbell River.