tips for Ray

hey lads.
gonna try for a ray in the next few weeks. i was wondering what rigs and hook sizes would ye recommend?

ive been told that mack, squid and sand eel work best? any other baits worth trying??

cheers,
Red.

i use 3 hook mackerel feathers baited with frozen mackerel works great for me,the older the mackerel the better,i have tried fresh and frozen on the same rig and always caught on the frozen

cheers for that. do you use big chunks of the mack or just little strips?

half a mackerel is what i use

depending on where you are fishing, but up in fahan there is a fierce rip of tide so I use 6oz grippers with 2ft long snood pennel pulley rigs size 2/0 hooks, with nice fresh mackerel outa the supermarket.
try sandeel and squid aswell. I have found they sometimes dont like the mackerel and need a bit of squid or sandeel in there diet hehe.

anyways good luck and let us know how you get on!

half a mackerel is what i use

what size hook are you using? I never go above a 2/0 and half a mack would last awhile

hey lads.
gonna try for a ray in the next few weeks. i was wondering what rigs and hook sizes would ye recommend?

ive been told that mack, squid and sand eel work best? any other baits worth trying??

cheers,
Red.

Howdy Pennel pully rigs if fishing snaggy marks. I prefer a one up one down with long snoods the baits you listed will all catch Ray and another one worth bringing is Herring it's caught me Ray many times when the others haven't been producing on the day tight lines and happy hunting

i use 3 hook mackerel feathers

so you use half a mack on each hook ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cheers for the info lads.

i use 3 hook mackerel feathers

so you use half a mack on each hook ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes half a mack on each hook,works great for me,got 18 ray in one session

i use 3 hook mackerel feathers

so you use half a mack on each hook ?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yes half a mack on each hook,works great for me,got 18 ray in one session

I Dont want to come across a pain pal, but the next time you catch a ray on mackerel feathers take a picture and post it up for me. I find it hard to believe a ray caught on mackerel feathers!!

i think he is fishing baited feathers, static on the bottom. no reason why that wouldn't work.

i think he is fishing baited feathers, static on the bottom. no reason why that wouldn't work.

I knew he was talking about baited feathers, static on the bottom from posting about using a mack fillet on each hook.
The logistics of the rig wouldnt work for any ray fishing I have ever done. considering that the snood lengths are generally 3" long and the overall length of the rig is approx 3-4ft with 4 snoods. not only would it be a nightmare trying to cast something like this more than 20yards but I have yet to see a ray ever being caught a mackerel trace. I would love to fish for rays where he is catching them.

i think he is fishing baited feathers, static on the bottom. no reason why that wouldn't work.

I knew he was talking about baited feathers, static on the bottom from posting about using a mack fillet on each hook.
The logistics of the rig wouldnt work for any ray fishing I have ever done. considering that the snood lengths are generally 3" long and the overall length of the rig is approx 3-4ft with 4 snoods. not only would it be a nightmare trying to cast something like this more than 20yards but I have yet to see a ray ever being caught a mackerel trace. I would love to fish for rays where he is catching them.

]you are welcome to come fishing with me and i will show you my mark
what i use is a standard 3 hook mackerel feathers rig baited with half a frozen mackerel on each hook and a 5oz beach bomb weight that can move with the tide[

[gfkelly1969]

I Dont want to come across a pain pal, but the next time you catch a ray on mackerel feathers take a picture and post it up for me. I find it hard to believe a ray caught on mackerel feathers!!

the ray were caught on mackerel feathers BAITED with frozen mackerel not just mackerel feathers on their own,here it the picture to prove it works,only had the camera on the phone so not very good,to get a photo i had to put the ray on their backs
ALL RAY WERE RELEASED ALIVE AND WELL,caught 7 first and released them the rest were kept in a rock pool until the photo of the 11 was taken

Last edited by gfkelly1969 on Fri May 01, 2009 1:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

half a mackerel is what i use

what size hook are you using? I never go above a 2/0 and half a mack would last awhile

i think the hooks on the rig are 2/0 hooks yes the mackerel lasts awhile which is great because i can sit down and relax awhile

looks like ive opened a can of worms here lads, and i dont mean lug or rag........

I dont understand this photo. Why would you keep rays in a rock pool to take a picture of 11 rays on there backs. strangest photo I have seen of rays to be honest. anyway well done on catching rays on mackerel feathers, I dare say it was hard hauling in a full house of rays with a 5oz weight as well!!

gfkelly just proved that different tactics suit different locations when going for ray

18 in one day - wouldnt get near 18 in a season!

impressive

at the risk of sounding like the c&r brigade (which id prefer not to) those rays all look dead to me....if you put a ray on its back it will 9 times out of 10 arch the wings and tail...all the ray in that pic are limp looking and also the purple patches on the wings are a sure sign of a ray in distress or dead..a fresh ray is always snow white underneath... the chanes that all 11 ray would "lie down" for the pic are fairly slim

off topic i know but just my opinion

rant over