How to Hook a Whole Herring as Bait for Salmon Fishing

You will want to watch the video to see how to do this, but I will also provide a quick step by step guide.
First, for clarity, "hook #1" refers to the hook at the very end of the fishing line, and "hook #2" refers to the floating hook located several inches above, or before, hook #1.
The first thing to do is run hook #1 through the back of the eye socket, followed by hook #2 (try to get it through the same hole)

Next, run hook #1 through the gill plates (to keep them closed during the troll) followed by hook #2 (through the same hole)
Don't loop the line around the fish from step 1 to step 2. If the line comes out the left eye, it should go back into the left gill plate

Once you have gone through the eyes and gill plates, insert hook #2 (the flying hook) into the meaty center of the bait, just under the dorsal fin. Make sure you insert it the correct way, so when trolling the hook is facing back. Then hook #1 goes in just before the tail, angled the same way as hook #2.

Cinch up the line holding hook #2 (the floating hook) so the tail has a nice bend to it (about 30/ 40 degrees)

The last thing to do is to "lasso" the mouth closed so it does not open and mess up the spin. You can do this by looping the line that comes out of the eye ONE time, making sure the loop folds back on itself. This is hard to describe, but easy to figure out (watch the video) You simply make a loop and place it over the herrings mouth. Pinch the herrings cheeks to help guide the loop to settle around the mouth, and pull it tight. If it un-loops and doesn't stay around the mouth, you looped it the wrong direction, try again but switch which line is over the other. It should be self tightening.

Now gently place the bait in the water to check your spin. You can easily tighten up the line between the two hooks to give the bait more of a bend and a faster spin.
Good luck!!