# Weird Night At Hrbt!



## GoCowboys (May 27, 2005)

Went out at about 1030pm with wife and a friend to hopefully hook into some blues or stripers. I was throwing a glow in the dark gotcha and hooked into a 40lb or so STINGRAY, yeah I said stingray. I was using 10lb fireline. It took me over 45 mins to finally get the beast in. I finally got the big guy off and tied on a white crankbait. About three cast later I hooked into another STINGRAY around the same size or smaller. I fought that beast for about an hour and brought him to shore when finally he broke the hook. Thank god. No blues or stripers just one flownder and those monster STINGRAYS. Those fish were huge. I m still in shock.


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## Dixie719 (May 12, 2003)

Revenge of the Cownose Rays has begun!

They can get thick at times!


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## FL FISHERMAN (Sep 30, 2002)

That is not necessarily a bad thing!!! Usually is a sign that Mr. Brown is not far behind!


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## striperswiper (Nov 30, 2004)

god damn it they're finally here i cant stand them damn cow rays


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

they's thik ,every where


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## Shooter (Nov 14, 2004)

Into every life some Rays must fall and nope I dont mean sunshine rays, the only way I can promise that you will not catch rays is don't fish.Can promise ya 3 things in life if ya fish- death, taxes and rays.


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

Giant rays from the beach oh my :--|


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## Wilber (May 20, 2003)

I fished the Pamlico Sound for Tarpon with Rick Caton about 6 years ago. Over the corse of 4 days fishing we caught 127 of the big flapping beasts. But then one of them turned into a 70lb Tarpon, what a suprise.


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## DavB (Apr 15, 2000)

Those rays still stand as the best fight I ever had. Looking at the picture at my work desk as I post...


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## Fishman (Apr 23, 2000)

those dormats took the skunk of some my new rods in the past and was the only critter on them those days.


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## GoCowboys (May 27, 2005)

your right about them being a good fight but very frustrating when your using light tackle and you have to fight them to get your 5 dollar lure back.


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## striperswiper (Nov 30, 2004)

they will usaully keep me occupied while i'm cobia fishin but i still cant stand the damn things i remember my days on harrisons when them big schools would come under the pier


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## reelrebel18 (Oct 13, 2004)

*skates not ray*

well we got blitzed by skates at wsj at 2 pm saterday and sunday and i gots a 58 pounder on 8 pound test  can u say 1 hour and 41 minute fight


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## CrawFish (Sep 23, 2003)

reelrebel18 said:


> well we got blitzed by skates at wsj at 2 pm saterday and sunday and i gots a 58 pounder on 8 pound test  can u say 1 hour and 41 minute fight


Well, there goes your drag.... I just cut my line if I ever hook up one of those on light tackle. But if he were on my Grandwave... then diff.


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## FL FISHERMAN (Sep 30, 2002)

reelrebel18 said:


> well we got blitzed by skates at wsj at 2 pm saterday and sunday and i gots a 58 pounder on 8 pound test  can u say 1 hour and 41 minute fight


Now I have never seen a 58lb skate in my life!!  But I know you guys in VA call everything skates.  Up in MD skates are usually the spiny ones and the clear nose ones. Usually no bigger than 5 to 10 lbs(ones I have seen) I am sure you got into a cownose ray if it was that big. They got the two big flapping fat lips on the front with a big a$$ mouth on bottom. The sting rays are the really really round ones and thinner than the cownose. My buddy hooked into a sting ray a few years ago in Sebastian Inlet in his boat. Had to be at least 8 ft wide and 150 lbs. He got it to the edge of the boat after 1hr plus fight and asked me to get it in the boat for pics! I grabbed that sucker by the nostrils and started to drag him in. Got him halfway in and he had 3/4 of the boat covered with his body. He then proceeded to get pissed and went crazy on me in turn breaking my buddy 6 ft penn rod in half and busting the 12/0 hook!  After that happened I thanked god I didn't get him completely in the boat because I am sure we would have been swimming and him driving the boat!


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## Dixie719 (May 12, 2003)

reelrebel18 said:


> well we got blitzed by skates at wsj at 2 pm saterday and sunday and i gots a 58 pounder on 8 pound test  can u say 1 hour and 41 minute fight


I would have to agree with Jason here, Skates ten not to get that big, but I have seen some nice size cownose rays in the bay and even bigger southern stingrays at LIP and Back Bay. I got into a huge Southern last year at Back Bay.


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## reelrebel18 (Oct 13, 2004)

i'm preetty sure it was a skate but i guess it cluold of have been a clear nose


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## GoCowboys (May 27, 2005)

Yeah I believe your right. It must have been a cownose ray. No matter. That SOB was huge and freaked me out because I never caught one before. Thanks for the info guys.


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## Dixie719 (May 12, 2003)

*Pick one:*

#1 Clearnose skate:

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/ClearnoseSkate/ClearnoseSkate.html

#2 Cownose Ray:

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/CownoseRay/CownoseRay.html
#3 Southern Stingray:

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/SouthernStingray/SouthernStingray.html


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## BigJeff823 (Oct 14, 2002)

*Stingrays*

Thank god they aint up north yet!All we got are them small Clearnose Skates.But I did see a black Stingray Egg Case.Does that mean they're arround?


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## reelrebel18 (Oct 13, 2004)

great info steve and i stand corrected they were cownose rays


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## GoCowboys (May 27, 2005)

We have finally figured out what they were. Its for sure a cownose ray. I looked at the picture and it was a lot bigger then the one in the picture. Thanks for the info. You learn something new everyday.


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## striperswiper (Nov 30, 2004)

yeah i snaged about 8 cow nose rays atr willoughby pier today with my storm and one on a peice of herring i was useing 8lb test with my storms man was that a blast a first but they get old after awhile they are always down here in the spit


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## rattler (Jul 3, 2004)

they like the shallow water...but you get them at seagull too...thats 30' or so...i guess it is the closest shallow...i have never caught a cowray in the mouth...always foul hooked...


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## inawe (May 24, 2003)

I hung into one in Glouster in my Jon Boat < humongous> got my bud to pull up the anchor and it pulled us around for 10 min,s  finally got him up to get a looksy and cut the line ; prolly went 50 # or so


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## virginia boy 1 (May 8, 2003)

check this one out. we caught it in summer 2003, behind the 4th island. it was 80 inches from wingtip to wingtip and it took 4 people and 2 gaffs to get it into the boat. we estimate it weighed about 250-300lbs, maybe more. The pic isnt that good, but that is a 120qt cooler and a grown man's leg in the picture.

somebody told me it is called a carpet ray. it was colored just like a flounder.
http://www.captainhoggscharters.com/image%20gallery/gallery/thumbs/chcs_62_tmb.jpg 
http://www.captainhoggscharters.com/image gallery/gallery/thumbs/chcs_62_tmb.jpg


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## Gumby (Jan 16, 2003)

Ummmm, once you have one of these little guys hooked and you are ready to let him go, how do you do it?


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## Zigh (May 2, 2002)

*Fish behind and under*

Rays are surely interesting to watch/ l00k at, and do make for a great battle... My experience with them at the area piers, is that many times Cobia and/ or Spanish Mackeral will swim behind and underneath of them... Caught many, many nice Spanish from Grandview pier right behind the schools that frequented that place.... Occaisionally you'd accidentally hook into one with a Gotcha and get spooled if you weren't nearby a knife... When offshore fishing, we've observed plenty of Cobia swimming under Manta rays.... Then there is, 'Stingray City', in the Cayman Islands.. My wife and I honeymooned there, and you basically get to swim with, and feed, these HUGE Stingray's that live on this particular shoal and are tame(for the most part)... To be honest, that plain freaked me out, but my wife loved it, and mention's it often... Anyway, next time you see a school of ray's from your boat or pier, try a Gotcha or live Threadfin behind them... You might get surprised... Fish On
Zigh
><((((*>


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## striperswiper (Nov 30, 2004)

http://www.captainhoggscharters.com/image%20gallery/gallery/thumbs/chcs_62_tmb.jpg 
http://www.captainhoggscharters.com/image gallery/gallery/thumbs/chcs_62_tmb.jpg[/QUOTE]


thats a butterfly ray i have only caught small ones but i have seen one about 200 pounds the carpet rays are more cirrcular me and my buddy caught a carpet ray off Harrisons it had to go 250 it took 5 gaffs to get him up and there were two Pups following it


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## GotchaMack (Jun 16, 2004)

Yeah they're a great thing for reels when you have your drag set for taylors and spanish with Gotcha's :--|


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## chomper (Dec 27, 2004)

I hear they make good shark bait..


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