Tried IOP first thing in the morning, 8oz pyramid wouldn’t hold, so I thought screw it, head to Shem Creek pier.
Hooked into the biggest fish of my life, monster ray, I saw it surface out by the end of the creek briefly.
To make matters worse, like 20 kayaks ( children ) in a group start right in front of me as he makes a huge run for the center of the channel.
Luckily he took to the bottom and didn’t make another run as they went over the top of him.
Finally got him close to the pier and for over 30 minutes I tried to get him off of the bottom.
50lb braid, 180lb steel leader, Penn 6500 and a 9’ Ugly Stick. Man, I have to give props to all equipment involved because I’ve never horsed anything like that before.
At one time I was using the dock as a fulcrum with the butt of the rod in my armpit just gradually sitting down trying to lift him from the bottom, I would get maybe 6" and then he would dig back down.
Eventually I locked it down as much as I could and got him soooo close and he made a strong surge and broke me free.
People say those things are junk, but man, I can’t imagine a bigger fight. My wrists and back are killing me now!
Never got a picture of the fish, just me trying to horse it from the bottom.
Yeah man know that feeling!!! Awesome description of that fight. What bait did you use? I had one on that big using half a whiting once down in the Fripp island inlet.
Don’t remind me! - Only problem with that place is there is no way to beach a ray, I’m not sure how you would get something that size out of the water, as there are no drop nets there.
I had one there last year that I did get to the surface and one of the people that were video taping said that it was bigger than his hands outstretched, and this one was bigger than that as far as I could tell by the fight.
The trick to those really big rays is don’t try to horse them in, you can’t. The more pressure you put on them the deeper they will dig in. When they dig in, give them slack, when they start to move again, start crankin’. In the surf I use the current, puling them down the beach. Eventually they will swim right up on the beach, easy. Honestly though it’s not my kind of fight, as soon as can see them, I break them off. To me it feels like trying to real in a jet ski or a 5gal. bucket half full of concrete.
Don’t remind me! - Only problem with that place is there is no way to beach a ray, I’m not sure how you would get something that size out of the water, as there are no drop nets there.
I had one there last year that I did get to the surface and one of the people that were video taping said that it was bigger than his hands outstretched, and this one was bigger than that as far as I could tell by the fight.
Pier gaff works but you’re going to severely injure/kill it. It’s not like we have a shortage of rays, and it’s not like a dead ray is going to be wasted in our waters. I have a pier gaff and have used it on the occasion, but usually I just break off a large ray since I know I’m not going to keep it.
I pulled one that was around 60 pounds from the pier at Fripp Inlet once with my pier gaff, but I probably won’t do it again. Just not worth all the hassle lol.
… The Cross of Christ is the anvil upon which the hammer of evil wore itself out.
If you hook one on the beach, work it parallel to the beach. Move it left and right and reel in on it as you do. I hooked a monster a couple of years ago. It took me 55 minutes. I don’t ever want to do that again. I had a friend hold pressure as it hunkered down in about a foot of water. I stood in front of it and reached under both wings to pop it free and he ran it up on the beach. I released it the same way I do with the smaller ones. Flip them over and they calm down considerably. Normally I carry them by the mouth back into the surf with one hand. This one took two hands and I couldn’t carry it far but was able to release it nonetheless.
A buddy and I were on my skiff in hamlin creek the other day when I hooked into a 4 footer that had to be around 40 to 50lbs. It pulled our 15lb anchor and drug us around while 3 boats watched lol. Took me 15 minutes to bring it in with a fierce 6000 combo with 20lbs of drag maxed out. It felt like I was deep sea fishing.
“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
