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With my pregnant wife aboard and a few friends we didn't expect to do any "real" fishing, but we grabbed some shrimp and headed out east of the sandbar (need to be close to port in case the baby wants out). Picked up some good sized pinfish to move up the food chain and threw them on some hooks while we ate lunch. While enjoying our food, my rod tip bent over and drag started flying. By the time I got to it, it was off. Pulled it back in and everything from the hook back was gone in one bite (probably those darn sharks). Went back to eating and 2 minutes later, my buddy's tip dropped and the drag started singing that lovely song. (Side-note: My buddy switched out his braid for Cajun line after loosing fish on braid w/ mono leader the last 3 weekends in a row). So whatever it is is taking the line for big runs then stopping and my buddy doesn't want to tighten the drag and loose it. In any event we spent over an hour going back and forth with this thing and never once got a visual. At one point I thought he had hooked someones lower unit they lost years ago because it wasn't doing much. Eventually after chasing it down with the boat and a dead shaking arm,1hr later we saw the fish, it was a large Stingray. Got it up close to the boat and gaffed him, so we could remove the hook. Tried as hard as I could to lift him up for a weight estimate with one arm, but couldn't get more than 3/4 out of the water. Also being my first time with a Stingray I lost concentration on the fact that they have a really sharp poison tip, which from all accounts, he tried to get me with while I was pulling him up for weight (I didn't notice but my wife screaming at me was a giveaway). We were able to get the hook out and let the beast swim away. In hindsight, and after digging around I realized that these guys are edible. Maybe next time I'll keep one and make some Stingray scallops??

[quote="Moheto"] In hindsight, and after digging around I realized that these guys are edible. Maybe next time I'll keep one and make some Stingray scallops??

Glad you got the drag pulled and got the fish to the boat. They may be edible, but the result isn't worth the trouble, IMO. First, you have to take the fish onboard, and that isn't fun at all. Second, you have to cut off the wings and "tease out" the meat from all of the tough, nasty connective tissue. Better to just let them go.

Luck,

EJ

Thanks, I was reading a nice hole saw punches out the meat then you just slice off the skin. Might be worth trying once if it happens again.

Moheto wrote:Thanks, I was reading a nice hole saw punches out the meat then you just slice off the skin. Might be worth trying once if it happens again.

Might as well try it - but the connective tissue is all the way through the wings and you have to tease it out. Not like a clean fillet. But, what the heck.

We caught a 38lb ray out there a few years ago. It was very good food at first but did not keep well in the freezer. I would not give it to a pregnant or nursing mom due to methyl mercury risk. In hindsight, I would keep smaller ones and eat them fresh cooked. The smaller the individual fish, the less likely that the mercury level will be off the scale. It may be just our experience but I always felt nauseated after eating that big ray. My wife told me later after we discarded the last of it that she had experienced the same. Also, Scott at Jerry's Bait told me that he knew of none of the locals who ate them.

As a side note, my brother in North Carolina tells me that they are a table favorite up there and a push is underway to get more anglers to view them as good table fare to reduce the population. (of rays, not people) :Da I am very curious what others have to say about these critters. They are fun to catch but rough if you get barbed.