# How to avoid stingrays?



## islander (Aug 31, 2011)

Hi there,

Went fishing on Friday in WP, it was a bit windy so after sitting for an hour or so on a reef across Cowes I decided to go closer to the shore. Had a few bites in about 3.5 meters of water, but then I got something I simply could not stop, it was like a train. Lost my rig to that thing, thought that the next time I would be more patient (I have never encountered rays before except for banjo sharks, did not realise what it was). That evening I got busted 4(!) times  . I had 30 lb braid (snapper outfit) but it was absolutely hopeless, I could not even turn them. They probably did not notice me at all  .
My wife said she saw huge rays next to the boat ramp on that day. Apparently, they are attracted by the fish leftovers / guts - a lot of anglers clean fish there.

So,

1) How do you avoid those things?
2) If you got a hook up (I guess it is quite easy to understand that it is a ray), is there any chance to save the rig?

Cheers


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

OUCH!  

Mods: please ban this subject!


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## bruus (Aug 27, 2010)

From what I've read on the forum here it appears that a fairly good way to avoid them is to fish around Kayakone, If there are any around they will seek him out and leave you alone.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

bruus said:


> From what I've read on the forum here it appears that a fairly good way to avoid them is to fish around Kayakone, If there are any around they will seek him out and leave you alone.


May ya chickens turn into emus and kick ya dunny down.


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## scater (Nov 24, 2007)

Fish lures


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## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Stingrays like sandy bottoms and heavy weighted baits so the don't move. If you dont want to catch them use less lead......In fact if you want to catch more fish use less lead and lighter lines. If you dont want the line to break then make sure you set your drag to between 1/3 and 1/4 of breaking strain and make sure it is smooth.


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## amulloway (Jul 8, 2008)

Fish for bass


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## Beekeeper (Aug 20, 2011)

I caught a large stingray whilst using a deep-diving lure upstream of Deep Water Bend near the two bridges. It was hooked fair square in the mouth on the rear trebles!

Mind you, I had some interesting moments trying to retrieve the lure, but retrieve it I did. I slid my very sharp knive along the hook, slicing its mouth, and the big flat thing just slid back into the murky depths.

Getting it into a position from which I could perform that procedure had its moments... nearly swamped a couple of times. All the time, it was giving me the big stare... quite unnerving.

Each time I fish that area, I hope I don't meet up with that bloke again... guess he'll still be a little pissed off about the split lip bit.

Cheers,
Jimbo


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## islander (Aug 31, 2011)

Thanks to everyone for the advice,


mingle said:


> The best thing is to move, if they're hanging around a particular area, and you're dropping bait on top of them, they won't leave you alone.


looks like I will have to, though I liked that particular spot and even caught a gummy there (I think I set an anti-record...it was about 35 cm long  I struggled trying to pull out the hook without damaging it too much ). It is a bit frustrating as it takes some time to setup (anchor +2 rods) and I am a bit lazy  


mingle said:


> If you're in a kayak, then the chances of getting even a moderate ray up are greatly reduced, but the chances of capsizing in the attempt are greatly increased!


yes, definitely, I think if I could get a hook up while drifting one of those things could drag me around for a few hours, they are really powerful creatures


ArWeTherYet said:


> If you dont want to catch them use less lead......In fact if you want to catch more fish use less lead and lighter lines.


the problem is that the current in WP is quite strong, I use braid line which is fairly thin and 3 oz bomb sinker, and i still get my bait somewhere in 30-40 meters from my position at best


Beekeeper said:


> Mind you, I had some interesting moments trying to retrieve the lure, but retrieve it I did


Lucky you, I could not even turn them


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## Scott (Aug 29, 2005)

Mate get your bait of the bottom slightly, a gummy or a flathead will rise a metre of the bottom to nail a bait, it is rare for a stingray to. I always do this when i am fishing for gummies and it works well.


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## islander (Aug 31, 2011)

Scott said:


> Mate get your bait of the bottom slightly, a gummy or a flathead will rise a metre of the bottom to nail a bait, it is rare for a stingray to. I always do this when i am fishing for gummies and it works well.


Thank you for the advice,
what kind of rig would you recommend? I use the standard snapper / gummy running rig, tried suspending the sinker on a thin line but it does not work well as sometimes it would twist around the main line


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## goanywhere (Feb 22, 2011)

Beekeeper said:


> I caught a large stingray whilst using a deep-diving lure upstream of Deep Water Bend near the two bridges. It was hooked fair square in the mouth on the rear trebles!
> 
> Mind you, I had some interesting moments trying to retrieve the lure, but retrieve it I did. I slid my very sharp knive along the hook, slicing its mouth, and the big flat thing just slid back into the murky depths.
> 
> ...


Mate I don't know how badly you cut up the ray's mouth but if you are going to disfigure a ray, do the decent thing and kill it. You are condemning the thing to starve to death if you cut up it's mouth badly. I'm no raving greenie, but I'd rather lose a rig and see the ray survive than slice it up to retrieve a rig and just dump it back. It's a sport after all. ;-)


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## Cresta57 (Oct 30, 2011)

goanywhere said:


> Beekeeper said:
> 
> 
> > I caught a large stingray whilst using a deep-diving lure upstream of Deep Water Bend near the two bridges. It was hooked fair square in the mouth on the rear trebles!
> ...


I've unhooked a few using that method [when lure fishing] it doesn't do massive damage & is far better than pulling a couple of hooks out through their rubbery lips. A very sharp knife tight against the treble makes just a small nick & they just slide away. When bait fishing I just cut the leader close to the hook as possible & tie on another hook.


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## john316 (Jan 15, 2009)

was getting in the water for a session with a paddling coach at Durras last Saturday and a monster sidled past. It was enormous and was obviously in for the scraps thrown in by returning fishermen at the boat ramp. Like most rays it was vacuuming the bottom...

as said before get the baits off the bottom...cheers

John


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## grinner (May 15, 2008)

hay bud, thy will take a lure sometimes
this one is on an sx40










the safest way to get your rig back is to pin them on their back against the yak. tail should then be out of reach










this fella had been de tailed. $1000 fine for cutting their tails off which ill hopefully deter the practice


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

grinner said:


> the safest way to get your rig back is to pin them on their back against the yak. Tail should then be out of reach.
> 
> View attachment 1
> 
> ...


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## killer (Dec 22, 2010)

Just cut the line, it's not worth the pain!

Cheers 
killer.


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

grinner said:


> the safest way to get your rig back is to pin them on their back against the yak. Tail should then be out of reach.
> 
> View attachment 1
> 
> ...


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## islander (Aug 31, 2011)

goanywhere said:


> I'd rather lose a rig and see the ray survive than slice it up to retrieve a rig


I agree 100%, but will it survive with the hooks in its mouth? I would certainly feel somewhat uncomfy with 3/0 in my lip


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## Cresta57 (Oct 30, 2011)

islander said:


> goanywhere said:
> 
> 
> > I'd rather lose a rig and see the ray survive than slice it up to retrieve a rig
> ...


As long as it's not a stainless hook it will rot out very quickly, I chucked one in my marine tank & it took less than a couple of weeks to become a rust spot on the sand.


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## actionsurf (Jul 8, 2010)

kayakone said:


> grinner said:
> 
> 
> > the safest way to get your rig back is to pin them on their back against the yak. Tail should then be out of reach.
> ...


Remember that one I got on the plastic on the way back from Jumpin Pin ? I noticed you kept your distance :lol:


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## islander (Aug 31, 2011)

BigGee said:


> has anyone noticed the amount of cooking shows that have been on various Foxtel Channels lately cooking up Stingray


I would not know where to start, I can imagine cleaning /gutting it would be really tricky... I guess they skip that part  
Besides, the rays have this look in their eyes (at least banjos), they somehow do not look like a fish (I know it sounds stupid but anyway), like they're closer to animals (which I believe is not the case biologically). Killing a ray would make me feel unhappy


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

islander said:


> BigGee said:
> 
> 
> > has anyone noticed the amount of cooking shows that have been on various Foxtel Channels lately cooking up Stingray
> ...


You'd be happy when you tasted it. It's handling it that now gives me the jitters.

Trevor


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## paulsod (Dec 28, 2008)

grinner said:


> the safest way to get your rig back is to pin them on their back against the yak. tail should then be out of reach


Yep and all it can do is put a bard through your yak. :lol: :lol:



kayakone said:


> You'd be happy when you tasted it. It's handling it that now gives me the jitters.


x2
I caught a couple of Stingrays in the Logan River many,many, many years ago and decided to keep one.
Well after cleaning all the slime off the flaps and pulling the skin off, I eventually cooked the flaps.
It honestly tasted like Chicken ( I know!! Everything tastes like chicken), but the thought of all the slime I had to get off evenually stopped me from eating much.


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## cheaterparts (Jul 3, 2010)

islander said:


> 1) How do you avoid those things?





mingle said:


> The best thing is to move, if they're hanging around a particular area, and you're dropping bait on top of them, they won't leave you alone.


also if you fish westernport you need to learn to live with them and using burley is not always your best move when gummy fishing I wont use burley it does bring around rays quicker that the grey subs



islander said:


> 2) If you got a hook up (I guess it is quite easy to understand that it is a ray), is there any chance to save the rig?





mingle said:


> If you're land-based, or in a boat, then you can usually drag them up (if your line is up to it!), but if you get one of those Westernport monster that are the size of a barn door, you can kiss your rig goodbye.
> 
> If you're in a kayak, then the chances of getting even a moderate ray up are greatly reduced, but the chances of capsizing in the attempt are greatly increased!
> 
> I've yet to catch one in Westernport, but I frequently see the bigger ones (from San Remo) cruising along the shallows.


somewhere you said you were using 30 lb line realy you should be able to get all but the monsters up with that and the 10 lb of drag shouldn't tip you out of the yak
of cause if you do get one to the top of the water beside you they arn't allways happy and cutting off the leader is about the other thing to do


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## islander (Aug 31, 2011)

Here's a couple of those guys..:


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## kayakone (Dec 7, 2010)

My balls are frozen.


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## islander (Aug 31, 2011)

My apologies. I really did not know how dangerous they can be.
After reading this
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=52754#p542176
I say who cares about the rig / lure / line / etc. Simply not worth the risk.


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