Hey Finegrain,

I think the U-shaped ones with the little vane on the side that Dogfish spoke of are made by Scotty, they are called a "Herring Devil", or something like that, they come in a couple of sizes and a bunch of different colors. I was at Seattle Marine Supply (on West Commodore Way, behind the fishermen's terminal in Seattle) the other day, and they had lots of them in stock.

The other one that you buy the specifically cut bait for, I think is made by Ryse Davis (not sure of the spelling) they are a BIG bait distributor up in Canada. Their one for herring strips I think is called the "Strip Teaser"

I've tried a few different ones while fishing in Canada, my favorites were the full helmet ones that you use a whole herring in, your leader runs right through them, and they have a red plastic pin that goes through the herring's head. You can tune the roll of the herring by where you seat the upper hook and how tight you set the line going to the pin.

Like Dogfish said, buy a few and give them a whirl, they definitely help keep your bait together, but you should still check it often to keep it free of seaweed, etc.

-N.