Jump to content
Fly Tying
Sign in to follow this  
Guest

Stingray on the fly....

Recommended Posts

I have caught literally TONS of Stingrays,but never on a fly rod. I expect that was some kind of pull. They are some massively STRONG fish.

Congrats

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

When I was in FL I had one take a jig I tied, I saw it swim underneath my jig as I was retrieving it, it swam past flipped upside down like a jet in a dog fight and grabbed it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I had one...'66 model. Wait! Are we talking about the same thing? That would be a blast on a fly rod. Saw River Monsters where they grip the bottom like a suction cup.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Very quickly rays can get into the "unstoppable category" on rod and reel.... You might have one hooked but you just won't be able to do much with it... On at least two occasions anglers on my skiff have broken rods on rays - usually at the boat, trying to lift one.... Most that we encounter are foul hooked but there are places and situations where they actually do get aggressive and come after a lure or fly.

A guide I know did have a different kind of ray encounter a few years back.  He was running offshore along the Gulf coast of the Everglades at an easy 30 miles an hour heading back towards Chokoloskee with customers aboard when a big ray (about the size of a table top) jumped into the air - and landed on their boat (a standard sized Egret almost 19' long), breaking two rods, knocking the platform off of his poling tower and slightly injuring one of his anglers... Never heard of anything like it and it could have ended up much worse... Rays are quite heavy for their size and some of them do get to be over six feet in wing span (and this is not counting the monstrous manta ray which commonly gets much,, much bigger..). 

 

Me,  I like to pay attention to rays of any kind since hungry fish, cobia offshore, and everything else inshore... will follow a ray to take advantage of feeding opportunities they present.  The trick is to toss your fly or lure where the followers can see it without snagging the ray... 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I worked as a mate on a charter boat for a bunch of years. We ran out of the Cape Fear River in NC. We saw huge manta rays almost daily in the summer. By huge, I mean 6-8 feet across. They hung out near the edge of the shoals and the deeper water. We used to see them come flying out of the water,turn over and splash down on their backs all of the time. A biologist that frequented the marina,doing fish surveys told us they did that to dislodge parasites. I would hate for something that big come crashing onto my boat.

We had a few close calls,but never a direct hit

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  

×
×
  • Create New...