9/28-Another fish (ray) story

[MASSfisher]

Fished from the rocks tonight while some buddies dove for lobsters. Hooked into a hefty bat ray at around 8:01. Fought him for about 23 minutes.

I was topped off with 85 yards of 50 pound mono. He stripped that off quickly and took a decent chunk of my 65# spectra off too. It's such a relief when your alberto knot holds when you are doubled over and maxed out at 19+ pounds of drag (buttoned down). Played tug of war with him for a little bit but eventually he took me to some structure and shredded up the 50 pound mono. Pop. Off he went.

Another big bat ray got away. Oh well.


I normally fish them with 40# but went a little heavier tonight knowing I'd be in a new AO with lot's of structure. Next time I fish this area I will rock an 80# shock leader. It just might hold up if I get extremely lucky. Not sure if that's over kill or not. Opinions? And thanks for reading.

[sasquatch]

80 will last longer than 50 on the rocks, but rocks are just sitting there with nothing else to do but shred your line.

[Latimeria]

Yep...  as Steve said... rocks have nothing better to do than shred your line.

Big bats have an uncanny way of finding structure to break off on... whether it's rocks, mooring chain or dock pilings.

Bummer on the loss.  Time to exact some revenge! 

[raychavez91]

Don't hurt to use the 80# mono at all with the proper connecting knot, I use 80-200# mono myself as a long shock/rub leader 20ish feet)depending where I'm fishing for rays, whether the harbor, or surf

[Latimeria]

I think Steve likes my connection knot, even though I am not sure of the name of it.  I tied it by accident and found it to be a super strong mono connecting knot for thicker/heavier lines. It's either a reverse Albright or no-name... or a hybrid there-of.