The problem I have found with jiggin my own herring is that they are not nearly as firm as the ones you get from a bait shop. Once caught they place the herring into pens and let them "season", which means starve. Once they get leaner they stay hooked up better. Winter is a bad time for commercial herring fishing. The schools are few and far between. About the only way to catch them is to find a school on the surface and dip net them. I used to work for the herring outfit in Gig Harbor (late 80's) and if they don't have fresh bait, no one does. Oh yea we caught two (8&11 lbs) on Monday using spoons and herring smelly jelly.