Samo (10/10) - bat man

[whate]

Got to there around 6:30pm. It was kind of windy and chilly, but the surf was very fishable. There wasn't much of seaweed, and tide was going out.

I put on the bonito's head, and cast it out about 100+ yrds. It was my first time trying out the bonito and didn't have much confidence in it, so 20 minutes later i decided to switch to the trusty squid that I got from ranch 99.

I hooked a piece of 8oz squid and cast it out about 110+ yrds again. How do i know it was 110+ yrds? I have 110 yrds top shot of 17lb and 50lb spectra backing, and each time i cast if it gets into spectra, it's 110+ yrds:LOL:

I changed bait every 40 minutes or so.

20 minutes after i changed bait the 3rd time, my reel started buzzin'. The fish put up a really hard fight. I thought it was the Leopard shark whic i was after, but the fight wasn't the right kind.

Some minutes into the fight, the fish was giving up slowly. About 50 fts from the beach, i saw the whipping tail and flappies. It was my first bat ray and didn't know how to handle it. Luckly, Alex (angrybee) helped beaching the bad boy, a 25-30lber.

It was a blast. Here are some shots taken Danny (dkinla).

my shark setup: 12'' ugly stick, and daiwa sealine 30sha. 4oz pyramid sinker, 24 ft 40lb shock leader, 110 yrds of 17lb main like, and around 200 yrds 50lb powerpro.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_ZhYGIzx1e3I/StLYp1l9NrI/AAAAAAAAACo/DIApv6Kap9w/s640/batray_itself_sharknight_101009%283%29.jpg


http://lh4.ggpht.com/_ZhYGIzx1e3I/StLYpqpP6OI/AAAAAAAAACg/0egs59w6QsI/s512/batray_sharknight_101009%282%29.jpg

[Kevman]

Nice bat! 110+ yrds is quite a long cast with a 12" rod!

[whate]

110+ yrds is for a newbie like me, ppl in the east coast could do 140-220 easily. :Embarrassed:

[hbomb]

Nice looking bat, great job. :Cool:

[Cangler]

You need to increase your leader to 60lb at least with a 4oz weight and increase it to 3 rod lengths at least.

If you're banging a cast out , you are going to do serious damage to
yourself or worse to someone else

[whate]

@Cangler, I think your suggestion works fine too. The common shock leader to weight ratio is: 10 lb for every 1 oz. So if i use 4 oz then its 4*10=40lb. The length of the shock leader is at least 2 times of the rod length and 5-10 turns of the reel handle. It also depends on how "soft" the tip of the rod. Mine is very soft, so doesn't put as much stress on the leader as the stiff-er tip.

I'm not an expert at this but never had issue with this setup for about a year or so now. I also have another setup up for 6 oz, which i use 60 lb shock leader. I try to stay within the minium requirement - as much as i can get away with. Every time i hooked a 4-5ft shark or something that size the line get damage because of the sand and have to cut it off. It gets expensive very quickly to have longer-than-necessary shock leader :LOL:

At the end, it's all about personal preference. I like the lighter shock leader, it gives better casting distance than the bigger #.

[Cangler]

@Cangler, I think your suggestion works fine too. The common shock leader to weight ratio is: 10 lb for every 1 oz. So if i use 4 oz then its 4*10=40lb. The length of the shock leader is at least 2 times of the rod length and 5-10 turns of the reel handle. It also depends on how "soft" the tip of the rod. Mine is very soft, so doesn't put as much stress on the leader as the stiff-er tip.

I'm not an expert at this but never had issue with this setup for about a year or so now. I also have another setup up for 6 oz, which i use 60 lb shock leader. I try to stay within the minium requirement - as much as i can get away with. Every time i hooked a 4-5ft shark or something that size the line get damage because of the sand and have to cut it off. It gets expensive very quickly to have longer-than-necessary shock leader :LOL:

At the end, it's all about personal preference. I like the lighter shock leader, it gives better casting distance than the bigger #.


I understand the expense , but you've got to think safety too.
40lb leader is far too light , ive seen enough leads hitting people
after crackoffs .

At least your thinking shockleader i guess , 6 to 12 turns of the real
is my norm.

It's real nice to see someone trying to get into distance casting here
and getting great results.

The flat beaches of the east coast of England where i grew up require
180 yards at least , just to find the trash fish , 220 - 240 yards for the
decent ones.

[kgselect]

Casting 110 yards (more than a football field) is amazing. Casting 240 yards is unbelievable. You would need a lot of leverage.

[LunkerLover]

220 easily. :Embarrassed:

what? ? ? ? wtf ? ? casting almost 700-feet? come on now.....
:???:

[LunkerLover]

Ron Arra of East Sandwich, Mass., one of the best distance casters in the United States. Arra, who retired from competition this summer at age 45, won the Stren national championship four times. His longest tournament cast, 738 feet, was the United States record for four years. The current record is 774.97 feet, set by Hector Hernandez of Texas City, Tex.

...I'm WRONG .... :Shocked:

[whate]

@Cangler, I see where you're coming from. Over there, to haul 6oz + bait you would have to cast really hard, that explains the need of extra heavy shock leader. For me, i just cast very casual, over head cast ; nothing like pendulum that the east coast guys do.

I get much better distance without the shocker dealer though.



The flat beaches of the east coast of England where i grew up require
180 yards at least , just to find the trash fish , 220 - 240 yards for the
decent ones.

[whate]

@kgselect, it's actually very simple to do, but it takes some practice to have consistent result.


Casting 110 yards (more than a football field) is amazing. Casting 240 yards is unbelievable. You would need a lot of leverage.

[Cangler]

Whate ... If you not power casting , you can still increase your range >>>

Try using chovies or dines , cut the head a tail off and tie to the
hook with elasticated cotton . That way they dont spin in the cast .
Also , leopard sharks love them.

Also , use a bait clip .
Set your hook length dropper to be just higher than your sinker , use
an opened paperclip to link the sinker to you hook , that will reduce drag
in flight. The link will come apart when the lead hits the water , it also
protects your bait in flight .

[whate]

i have been looking for a way to do the bait clipper. Can you post a pictures of how it's done? So much info if you Google, but none is easy to follow - I need to see the pictures of the whole thing :)

Thanks.


Whate ... If you not power casting , you can still increase your range >>>

Try using chovies or dines , cut the head a tail off and tie to the
hook with elasticated cotton . That way they dont spin in the cast .
Also , leopard sharks love them.

Also , use a bait clip .
Set your hook length dropper to be just higher than your sinker , use
an opened paperclip to link the sinker to you hook , that will reduce drag
in flight. The link will come apart when the lead hits the water , it also
protects your bait in flight .

[gavin310]

Hey man, awesome catch out there. What type of hooks were you using?

[Ray Lopez]

Nice bat! 110+ yrds is quite a long cast with a 12" rod!

not really i can cast out at least 500 ft from the surf. My best is with a 4 to 6oz torpedo lead weight on a single long dropper loop and drag the weight on the sand and then zoom that puppy as far as possible

[whate]

I use 8/0 owner circle hooks for shark or anything that size. some time i switch to Gamakatsu Offset EWG 2/0 and hook the whole shrimp for medium size shovel nose or big croakers.


Hey man, awesome catch out there. What type of hooks were you using?

[gavin310]

I use 8/0 owner circle hooks for shark or anything that size. some time i switch to Gamakatsu Offset EWG 2/0 and hook the whole shrimp for medium size shovel nose or big croakers.

cool, thanks. i'm gonna throw out a huge chunk of meat in about 2 weeks and see what bites. I wanted to use circle hooks so that's what I'll do.

[bsp]

Congrats man, you gotta love getting the sharks and rays out of the surf. Big Bat rays pull forever, but my favorites are leopard sharks because they can't sting and look awesome.

Do you find you don't get as many bites with an 8/0 as opposed to say a 4/0? I've always used a 4/0 circle hook and never had any problems, but if I can get away with a larger I will to minimize gut hooking.

[Cangler]

i have been looking for a way to do the bait clipper. Can you post a pictures of how it's done? So much info if you Google, but none is easy to follow - I need to see the pictures of the whole thing :)

Thanks.


http://www.gofishing.co.uk/Sea-Angler/Section/how-to/Sea-Fishing-Advice/Fishing-Rigs2/Beach-rigs/How-to-tie-the-three-hook-clipped-trace-rig/

[flyngby]

To much Marh and Physics in the post for me to swallow at the moment!!!!!

But certanly a worthy catch of a nicer Bat!

I miss those challenges Since I have not fished for them recently!!!!!

Steve