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Game fish or trash fish?

 

Is this the future of CA fishing?

 

Seems like thats all people catch. I foul hooked one with my x-rap fishing the shore in the SFBay. Its annoying. 3rd time this year at that spot. You'll lose your gear, you pollute the water with your lost gear, they take up your time, they fight laterally potentially running into other people's line, and they are edible? yuck.

 

And people target them even though they won't keep them. Or mutilate them if they don't like landing one. I don't do either. Why harm this creature in either case.

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I would not call a bat ray either a game fish or a trash fish. i refer to them as a sporting fish.

I love catching them. Soak some squid on a barb-less circle hook and really test out your tackle. Fun way to fish with kids as well.

I never fish piers so when i am on shore catching them, they are carefully treated with the utmost respect, and safely released. i do the same thing with sharks. i won't eat leopards due to the whole mercury, PCB thing but I sure like to catch em.

best to date is a ray close to 100 pounds caught on a calcutta 200 with a custom seeker 196-7 and 10lb test mono. Took close to an hour to land her, got a quick pic, and off she swam.

Be the chimp, not the frog.....

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Bat Rays are the poor mans big game fish. I love catching them because there is nothing that is commonly caught in the San Francisco Bay that can match their power and size. I caught 100's over 50 pounds and over 20 over 135 lbs using squid. They can ruin your tackle if you ain't carefull. Not only that they are fun to catch from a skiff early in the morning because some of them jump completely out of the water. I suggest everybody should catch one of these giants because they tune up your fish fighting skills so when you catch that 40 striper on the beach it won't break you off. I have never been spooled by a bat ray but I was with my Buddy David Newell when his 12ft lamiglass single piece surf rod equiped with a penn 500(Jigmaster) and over 400yards of 30lb test got taken down to the spool and the only thing that saved his reel was he told me to take his buck knife from his sheath on his side and cut the line. We were fishing the flats at what used to be called San Leandro Bay and I swear to you that this was the biggest fish I ever seen in those waters! The tip of its wings came out of the water and there was about 8 feet of wingspan! If I had to guess that stingray was over 250 lbs. It bent that rod like a pretzel and David kept maximum pressure from hook set til the pinging of his line("sounded like a guitar string").

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One thing you don't want to do while fishing for those Bad boys if you have Braid on your reel is try and forcefully set the hook or your line

will Snap. I've caught a Few Big ones at Doran Beach and like the

other guys said they are a Blast to catch. Unlike Sharks that will come back at you Bat rays peel the line off your reels and keep peeling. biggrin.gif

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whassamatter ray?

 

don't wanna use your NEW harvester gear on them? moon.gif

 

 

What up girl ....would you use The Pink Poodle Rod 40.gif

that set up was before I found religion, back in my spot burning,harvesting, freezer stocking of fish daysbiggrin.gif

"Obamacare: the efficiency of the DMV, the compassion of the IRS"
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Bat rays are the bomb. Spring fishing the bay when the bass aren't around can be nothing but a blast. I have seen rods disapear into the drink when some yoyo isn't taking care of his rod. I was almost spooled twice from a huge bat ray I hooked out in Pacifica on a Kroc. That fish took drag from the winchmaster! He was released unharmed. I also see the wing cut offs in the bay that bothers me, but it's not mutilation. From what I'm told the wing meat taste and is used as imitation scallops! I just wish if your going to keep a fish for comsupstion (sp) at lease give the carcass the respect any animal should be given when harvested. Tossing fish carcasses into the bay or Ocean dosen't feed the crabs or birds they just end up rotting in the mud or on a sandy beach.

I've seen a few too many striper carcasses in the last couple of weeks left either on a beach or tossed into public trash cans where the racoons pull them out and leave them to rot in the sun. Proper disposal not only is sanitatary but the proper thing to do.

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heart.gif Mud Marlins are a blast!! I usually only fish for them once a year in a tournament I fish. But I have fished for them one other time when a friend and I got skunked fishing for rockfish off the rocks. On the way back from the coast we fished the bay near the S.F. airport (vague description,I don't think spot naming matters when fishing for bat rays) and for about an hour we caught one batray after another mostly small ones 10-20lbs. But small ones can be just as fun.The biggest Bat Ray I ever caught was 34lbs.
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Mud Marlins!! If there is one fish in our waters that will test the limits of your gear it would be them! Pound for pound, even the mighty sturgeon don't have squat on these guys.

 

I have a great time fishing for them when the bite dies down for other species.

 

As far as eating them, I've never tried it but I've heard them prepared by cutting off the wings and then using a cookie cutter to make "poor man's scallops" as Winch mentioned earlier.

 

Keep your drags loose when fishing for these beasts!

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  • 4 weeks later...

We fish for mudmarlins here almost every other week. There's a bunch of us that gather to have a night of fun and try for the Batrays, We bar-b-que, drink, and just have some clean fun. we have caught mud marlins up to 100lbs and it has taken anglers up to 2 hours fighting these sporting game. It a great way to sharpen your skills and just get that rush of a major bendo. Yes! our tackle it designed for major battles, 30lb test, surfrod 9', toriums reels, and 6/0 hooks. We use whole squid and just wait for the tide to change...............................HOOK-up!!!!!!!!cwm12.gif

DARK KINGS Fishing Club. President, Port Hueneme, CA BOOYAA!!
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