Herring are one of those ultralight species that completely change the pace of a session once you find them. They don’t ease into a bite like some fish. When you’re on them properly, it’s immediate, fast takes, sudden weight on the rod, and bursts of speed that often send them jumping out of the water. On light gear, they are so much fun.
The whole game with herring fishing is not really about catching them in the traditional sense. It’s about finding the shoal. Once you’ve found herring, it often turns into one of the most consistent forms of ultralight fishing you can experience. Before that point though, it can feel completely dead. Then suddenly everything switches on.
One thing I’ve learned over time is that herring fishing is far less about tactics than most people think. Once you are actually on the fish, most reasonable methods will work. The real skill is finding them and figuring out where they are sitting in the water column. If you are in the zone, almost anything moving at the right depth will get hit.
How to Catch Herring
In practice, catching herring always starts the same way for me, searching water, usually just before sunset. You can cover ground, try different depths, and work areas that look right, but until you hit the shoal, nothing really happens. Then one cast changes everything. That first hook-up usually confirms you’ve found them, and after that it can go from silence to non-stop action in seconds.
This is why so much of herring fishing comes down to location rather than rigs. People often overthink methods, but in reality it’s more about finding feeding fish than having the perfect setup.
Then the “best” method depends on what you want from the session. You can maximise catch rate and go very efficient, or you can slow everything down, try a more skill-based method, and actually enjoy the fight. With herring fishing, those two approaches are often in conflict.
Efficient Approach
Sabiki Rig
Close up of Sabiki
The sabiki rig is still the fastest way I’ve found to catch herring once they are located, or to confirm they are present in an area. It removes a fair bit of guesswork from herring fishing and if they’re there, you’ll know almost immediately.
When the shoal is active, it can feel relentless. Multiple hook-ups every cast, fish stacking on a multi-hook rig without you really needing to do much at all.
Because I fish ultralight gear, I never run the standard sabiki setup. My rods are rated up to around 7 grams, so I always strip it back, cut off the weight clip, and replace it with a 3–4g drop shot weight.
The issue with sabiki rigs is simple, they’re almost too effective. On a light rod, multiple hook-ups can quickly become awkward to manage, so I often reduce the number of hooks to keep things under control.
For that reason, I usually treat the sabiki purely as a tool to find the shoal. Once I’ve had my first fish and confirmed what’s going on, I’ll switch it out for a more controlled setup.
Drop Shot Rig
Dropshot baited with isome worm
A two-hook dropshot rig is a good compromise, with the first hook about 2 feet off the bottom and the second hook around 5 feet up. It can be a little awkward to cast on such a short rod, but it’s a great rig to use.
I’ll usually start with this setup and adjust the depth over time using the dropshot weight.
Small changes in depth matter a lot here. Sometimes a foot either way is the difference between scattered interest and consistent bites.
I don’t fish the dropshot in a conventional way when targeting herring. Usually, I make bigger casts, use slow retrieves, and work a lift-and-drop technique during the retrieve.
As for lures and baits, I like to experiment, but my go-to is half-inch sections of artificial baits such as isome on size 8 hooks.
Slower and More Controlled Methods
Jig Heads
This is where herring fishing starts to feel more skill-based. Tiny soft plastics on a light jig head force you to actively read the shoal. You’re not just dropping into fish, you’re working through them, adjusting depth, speed, and movement until something clicks.
Sometimes herring want a fast, erratic retrieve just under the surface. Other times it’s a slow, subtle swim right through the middle of the shoal.
I find it’s one of the most engaging ways to catch herring because every fish feels earned rather than guaranteed.
Micro Metals (Spoons & Jigs)
Micro metal lures are something I always keep in the bag for herring fishing. Small spoons and micro jigs can be incredibly effective once you understand how they behave in the water column. They cut through wind, are the best casting option when you need extra distance, get depth quickly, and can be worked through a shoal in a completely different way to soft plastics.
What I’ve found is that micro metals often trigger reaction strikes when nothing else is working. A steady retrieve with occasional pauses or fluttering drops can suddenly switch herring on, especially when they are sitting slightly deeper or spread out rather than tightly packed near the surface.
They also give you range, which is super important. If the herring are out of casting range for other rig types, a metal lets you reach them.
Final Thoughts
Herring fishing in ultralight terms is really about control more than aggression. At the start of a session, everything is about finding them quickly. Once you’ve done that, the better fishing usually comes from slowing down and choosing how you want to interact with the shoal.
Sabiki rigs get you there fastest. Micro metals help you search. Single-hook rigs and soft plastics give you the best overall experience once you’re into the fish.
And once you’ve spent time herring fishing properly on ultralight gear, you stop seeing them as just baitfish. They become one of the most fast-paced and enjoyable ultralight species you can target.
