# Slow weekend



## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Fishing was slow this weekend, but still managed a few nice fish.
Friday afternoon when I got down to the beach there were no mullet anywhere, so we headed down to the cut to try to catch bait. While I was throwing the cast net, my wife decided to throw a live finger mullet out and maybe catch a red or flounder. I was about 50' away, still trying to catch some mullet when I heard her scream. When I turned around I saw her rod doubled over with a fish about 3' long tail walking on top of the water. When I saw all the jumping and splashing, I knew she had just caught a huge trout. I dropped my cast net and starter running, and got there just in time to see here drag a 3' alligator gar up on the sand. I swear it looked just like a trout dancing across the water. 
After releasing the gar, I managed to catch a few more mullet, so we headed to the surf. I got a couple rods set out right at dark, and within a few minuets had a nice red on the beach. We tried for about 30 more minuets, using my headlights to see the rods, but never got another bite.
Saturday we met up with some fellow 2coolers to try our luck. The first spot we tried was nothing but gafftop and small shark one after the other, so we moved a few miles away to try for something better. We managed a few reds, but it was a slow bite. One of the reds had ate a small stingray, and the tail and barb were hanging out of its gills. Not something you see everyday.
Today we weren't planing to fish at all, but I still had a few mullet left over from Saturday, so we decided to try for a couple hours. I set 2 rods out in the second gut with steel leaders baited with half mullet, and tossed 1 rod out right off the beach with a mono leader and a small piece of cut mullet to try for a keeper red. About 30 minuets went by with no bites, when all of a sudden the rod I tossed right off the beach started smoking. By the time I got to the rod, it was already into the backing with no signs of slowing down. I was sure it was a shark, and that it would cut the mono leader any second, so I just cranked down on the drag and held on. Once it got down to just a few wraps left on my spool, I realized there was no way it could be a shark, so I ran out into the water, trying desperately to get some of my line back. After chasing it about 200 yards down the beach, I managed to get about 1/4 of my line back, and that's when I realized what I had, a big ray. During the first 30 minuets he never sat down. I would get half of my line back, only to have it take it all off again. I had to run out past the first bar several times just to keep from being spooled. I finally got it to the first gut, and then it sat down on me. I already knew what it was, and I should have just cut my line, but it had become a mission to me. Since the ray was sitting down, I decided to sit down to, and got my wife to go get me a chair. I sat in my chair with my rod stuck in the sand, holding all the pressure my 30# big game could stand, and waited. It was probably another 30 minuets before the ray got up, so I got up with it. After that it was all over but the crying. It didn't take long to get it slid up on the sand. Right away I noticed it's tail was missing, but when I went to grab it, I noticed it still had its barb. After removing the barb and getting a few pictures, I set it free to go scare some poor wade fishermen to death. The pictures don't do it justice. I've caught some big rays in my life, but I didn't think it was possible to land one with such a small reel. I was using a Penn Squall 25N, which is about the same size as a 6500. It just goes to show you can do anything if your stubborn enough.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Ray


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## AFORWW (May 2, 2018)

Glad y'all had luck. From 0 to 30 miles PINS was inundated with some sea grass junk. Couldn't keep a line out longer than a few minutes without it getting completely engulfed in the stuff. 

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## mccain (Oct 20, 2006)

holy moly! that's a beast


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## monkeyman1 (Dec 30, 2007)

Great report, as usual.


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## Notenoughtime (Mar 7, 2011)

Unfortunately, it looks like she didn't make it Chum.

Me and my son left about 6 and he spotted her as we were making our way back to Sargent. She obviously tried to deliver her babies but looks like at least three of them didn't make it.










It was nice meeting you by the way. My son got a lot of good practice with the casting net in the cut. It was interesting when the tide started really pulling out of the cut. The small crabs, shrimp and even thumb sized flounder would come right up to the edge of the water to avoid being sucked out by the current. We didn't get any pulls on the surf rods but we had a great afternoon down there.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

Notenoughtime said:


> Unfortunately, it looks like she didn't make it Chum.
> 
> Me and my son left about 6 and he spotted her as we were making our way back to Sargent. She obviously tried to deliver her babies but looks like at least three of them didn't make it.
> 
> ...


 I saw that one on the beach , it was a different ray. I caught mine by Mitchells cut, about 6 miles away, plus mine was bigger.
Stop by next time you see me on the beach and I'll put ya'll on some fish.


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

notenoughtime, If you kept that ray and don't know what to do with it, a sharker will gladly take it off your hands. anyone else who has this happen, keep that in mind...


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## Notenoughtime (Mar 7, 2011)

jimj100 said:


> notenoughtime, If you kept that ray and don't know what to do with it, a sharker will gladly take it off your hands. anyone else who has this happen, keep that in mind...


It wasn't ours. Just stopped and snapped a pic.

I would love to see someone take that one out as bait :smile:.


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## TxBrewer (Jul 23, 2011)

AFORWW said:


> Glad y'all had luck. From 0 to 30 miles PINS was inundated with some sea grass junk. Couldn't keep a line out longer than a few minutes without it getting completely engulfed in the stuff.
> 
> Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk


ya we had the same problem this weekend. Couldn't find mullet in the surf and then the grass like stuff was killing us. Saturday was impossible to keep lines out there.

Hoping it isn't like that in Matagorda when I come down for vacation in a couple weeks.


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## Notenoughtime (Mar 7, 2011)

sharkchum said:


> I saw that one on the beach , it was a different ray. I caught mine by Mitchells cut, about 6 miles away, plus mine was bigger.
> Stop by next time you see me on the beach and I'll put ya'll on some fish.


Good to know. Yeah, yours def looks bigger. When you said it was missing its tail I assumed it was same one, cause hers was gone too. It did however, looked to me like, her tail might have been sawed off by whoever caught it.


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## AFORWW (May 2, 2018)

Fingers crossed. I'm taking forward week of July off to get some shark fishing and camping in. If that stuff is around I may just reschedule.


TxBrewer said:


> ya we had the same problem this weekend. Couldn't find mullet in the surf and then the grass like stuff was killing us. Saturday was impossible to keep lines out there.
> 
> Hoping it isn't like that in Matagorda when I come down for vacation in a couple weeks.


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## TxBrewer (Jul 23, 2011)

jimj100 said:


> notenoughtime, If you kept that ray and don't know what to do with it, a sharker will gladly take it off your hands. anyone else who has this happen, keep that in mind...


When you use rays like that for shark bait I am assuming you cut a chunk off to use, any parts better to use than others? I have 2/3 of a ray in the freezer and plan to use it for some shark lines when I come down for vacation.


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## AFORWW (May 2, 2018)

I'd quarter a ray that big. But that all depends on how big of a fish you want to target. I cut mine in half length wise usually, obviously because they're smaller. I like to keep part of the main body on. No concrete evidence it is better just my thing.


TxBrewer said:


> When you use rays like that for shark bait I am assuming you cut a chunk off to use, any parts better to use than others? I have 2/3 of a ray in the freezer and plan to use it for some shark lines when I come down for vacation.


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## jimj100 (Dec 1, 2012)

TxBrewer said:


> When you use rays like that for shark bait I am assuming you cut a chunk off to use, any parts better to use than others? I have 2/3 of a ray in the freezer and plan to use it for some shark lines when I come down for vacation.


yes, sharkchum's ray would make many good baits. Something like 12"x12" chunk of wing/center would make a nice bait to drop for a nice 7' Tx bull shark. no matter how large a piece of ray u drop, small black tips will eat bites out if it like a hamburger til they reach the hook... they will leave you a little 3" nub that your hook is in.


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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

I've never had much luck with stingray. I'll use it if I don't have anything else, but thanks to craigslist I always have plenty of shark bait. There are ads almost daily from people with free kittens.


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## AFORWW (May 2, 2018)

What the hell man. Don't post stuff like that...... People will catch on.


sharkchum said:


> I've never had much luck with stingray. I'll use it if I don't have anything else, but thanks to craigslist I always have plenty of shark bait. There are ads almost daily from people with free kittens.


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## mtbfreak (Oct 7, 2017)

Cownose is where it's at.


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## mtbfreak (Oct 7, 2017)

Awesome catch. I hung into a big one and it out last me. Didnt have the patience to wait it out and broke the line.


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## DA REEL DADDY (Jun 7, 2005)

sharkchum said:


> I've never had much luck with stingray. I'll use it if I don't have anything else, but thanks to craigslist I always have plenty of shark bait. There are ads almost daily from people with free kittens.


You're funny dude!

Big ray. You probably could of sold that to a, You buy We fry,
for some scallops.:smile:


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## WillieT (Aug 25, 2010)

Your slow day would be my great day. Itâ€™s all about perspective. That is a monster ray. The only one bigger Iâ€™ve ever saw caught was at night at Ed Bells Marina at Indianola when I was in high school.


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## hog_down (Jan 11, 2010)

That ray is HUGE!


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## 348473 (Apr 12, 2017)

We do well on Ray for sharks. Always deploy ray at dusk and let em ride overnight. I like whole and stab them in the guts a few times. Caught big bull on this one. There better bait was offshore other week and get a freezer of kingfish Jack and Bonita.









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## sharkchum (Feb 10, 2012)

hurricane matt said:


> We do well on Ray for sharks. Always deploy ray at dusk and let em ride overnight. I like whole and stab them in the guts a few times. Caught big bull on this one. There better bait was offshore other week and get a freezer of kingfish Jack and Bonita.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 That's not even a stingray, it's a clearnose skate. Where did you find that?


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## 348473 (Apr 12, 2017)

Buccees in Surfside 

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