Bolsa Chica 7-13-07 + Unknown fish

[boxl0bster]

hey guys, i went to fish bolsa chica yesterday with my gf. pretty good day caught 6 shovelnose guitar fish and 1 corbina plus two unknown fishies.
all caught with mack or squid. fishing was pretty consistent when i had squid on, but once i started using mack it was WO, caught the last four fish of the day on mack within an hour. i tried some gulp camo sandworms for some barred surf perch got a bunch of hits but couldnt get them to stick. :oops: tried searching for some sandcrabs but there were few and the ones i did find were the size of beans.


heres a pic of the unknown fish. i searched online and the closest thing that looks like it is called a starry skate. at first i thought it was a round sting ray. if it is a starry skate theyre supposed to be down in baja. wonder how it got up here.

[rusty6]

taht is a thornback stingray, they are thick down there

[Tundy]

Yep, that there is a thornback. My son caught one last week. It did give much of a fight. Did yours fight at all?

[boxl0bster]

the first one we got was pretty weak, i think we hooked it for awhile but couldnt tell it was on because of the strong waves. the second one fought hard i was holding the rod when it hit and it fought all the way to shore. fought harder then some of the larger shovelnose i caught that day. :)



BTW, so these guys can sting you pretty good right? how do you take them off/handle them?

[SanDimasLMB]

the first one we got was pretty weak, i think we hooked it for awhile but couldnt tell it was on because of the strong waves. the second one fought hard i was holding the rod when it hit and it fought all the way to shore. fought harder then some of the larger shovelnose i caught that day. :)



BTW, so these guys can sting you pretty good right? how do you take them off/handle them?

Thornback ray can poke you with the pricks on their back's if not handled correctly but they carry no poison. :wink: and to take the hook out, just flop them on their backs and release promptly

[celtics213]

ive caught countless thornbacks at newport pier, there not much fun, when i catch them they just feel heavy. Last week tho I went to Corona Del Mar to fish and i forgot to set the drag on one of my fishing poles, about 10 minutes later i see my fishing pole bending and before i can get to it, its in the water drifting slowly away... I cast my other pole and on the third try i managed to hook it. About 10 minutes later i get my pole back and the fish is still on the line, :D Im excited becuase i think it might be a good sized fish, it took me about 5 minutes to reel in and right as im about to land it i see that its a huge bat ray probably 15 pounds. :cry: Everyone around me is laughing becuase they saw that i was getting something, it was pretty embarassing, :oops: but what can u do, anyone else ever catch a bat ray?

[JohnG]

Thornback ray can poke you with the pricks on their back's if not handled correctly but they carry no poison. :wink: and to take the hook out, just flop them on their backs and release promptly

If you grab them by the nose and let 'em hang, they arch their back and go into full paralasys mode. Much easier to remove the hook from their tough lip and not scarry at all.

I hate how the thornbacks can sit on a hook for ever without moving.
Just another good reason to use plastics!