Shannon Estuary 07/04/12

People:Me and younger brother

Duration:1rst mark 10.00-15.30 2nd mark 16.00-17.00

Tide: Low @ 13.30

Weather: Dull,overcast,bit of drizzle.

Bait:Everything!

Rigs:Pennel and wishbone pulleys and two hook flappers(All size 4/0)

Results:3xRay

Went down to Tipperary for a few days on fri,took the first oppertunity to fish and went out saturday morning with my younger bro who is brand new to fishing.Was heading down to this mark with only one thing on the mind,to get me and my bro our first ray!
Fished the first mark without a bite all the way up until 14.00 apart from the crabs who were making big baits dissapear in less than 5mins .Seeing that my brother was bored out of his head I suggested giving it another half hour before heading on to the next spot.Close enough to packing up I noticed my rod tip dipping and pulling to the right,started to reel and felt a good weight on.Couldnt of prepared myself for what was to come up out of the water,a double of ray 5 1/2lb and 6lb(Male&Female) on a wishbone pulley!Fish fell to frozen crab and a sandeel wrapped in squid.Next thing was to get my brother one so set him with the same rig and same baits but no joy.After giving it another hour and a half we decided to head up to the next spot and fish it for an hour.
Arrived at the spot and met a few lads who were only set up aswell,had fish baits in the water for nearly an hour with no joy.Looking like it was time to call it a day I threw out a two hook flapper with the last of my frozen crab while packing up,reeled it in and had another ray but only a baby.Was drunk off my bro hadnt a fish all day but what can you do,he was happy enough to see a ray up close anyway.




Report:

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great results tim well worth the trip im sure your brother will land one soon

great results tim well worth the trip im sure your brother will land one soon

Cheers John,yeah the brother is fairly keen to get back out fishing after seeing the ray pulled in

That female has a lot of thorns

Lovely fishing,would'nt mind a few like that myself.Please don't think im a smart arse but would it be better to hold the ray the other way up rather than by their tails.Its much easier to do and better for the fishes welfare,and less of a chance of getting spiked by the thorns.
Tight lines

Lovely fishing,would'nt mind a few like that myself.Please don't think im a smart arse but would it be better to hold the ray the other way up rather than by their tails.Its much easier to do and better for the fishes welfare,and less of a chance of getting spiked by the thorns.
Tight lines

No chance of getting spiked if you have a towel wrapped around it's tail like tim did I dont think the fishes welfare would have been affected too much, esp if it is going to be knocked on the head for the table , you have a better chance of getting hurt holdind a fish from the head end as all of the thorns are facing towards the rear, i have caught my fair share of them and have had the fingers to prove it as well , you also have a chance of getting a crushed finger if your finger happens to go into it's mouth

Lovely fishing,would'nt mind a few like that myself.Please don't think im a smart arse but would it be better to hold the ray the other way up rather than by their tails.Its much easier to do and better for the fishes welfare,and less of a chance of getting spiked by the thorns.
Tight lines

Nah,no worries point taken.But Johns right they got knocked on the head.Was my first time catching them and will be my first eating them tomorrow when I cook them up (The little fella went back)

Great stuff Tim. Glad your trip was a success.

[/quote]No chance of getting spiked if you have a towel wrapped around it's tail like tim did I dont think the fishes welfare would have been affected too much, esp if it is going to be knocked on the head for the table , you have a better chance of getting hurt holdind a fish from the head end as all of the thorns are facing towards the rear, i have caught my fair share of them and have had the fingers to prove it as well , you also have a chance of getting a crushed finger if your finger happens to go into it's mouth [/quote]
Fair point if the fish were kept for the table,i did'nt know that and the post did'nt say that ,and as most of the ray ive caught are painteds thorns are'nt really an issue,but i do beg to differ on holding any ray by its tail and prefer to hold them by their sockets and have yet to have my fingers crushed and ive had a fair few over the years as well and certainly would'nt be jealous of anyone who would have had their fingers crushed that would be just too painful for me
I suppose its horses for courses and if the fish were killed for the table who really cares,i just return all my rays and like to be gentle with them in order to cause as little stress as possible to the fish,but thats just me .Good luck with skinning the wings i hear it can be a bit of a mare,also freezing the fish first rather than eating it fresh is supposed to be nicer to eat so im told anyways.
Tight lines
Tight lines

well done mate not a bad session in the end and a nice dinner to top it off

Well done on catching your first Thornback

I hear they are full of ammonia and if not treated right they taste foul, by now you must have cooked and eaten your's so how did you find them
Did you have to hang them to let the ammonia drip out or what dude ?

Did you fry / boil or oven bake them,

Well done on catching your first Thornback

I hear they are full of ammonia and if not treated right they taste foul, by now you must have cooked and eaten your's so how did you find them
Did you have to hang them to let the ammonia drip out or what dude ?

Did you fry / boil or oven bake them,

Just after getting up from the dinner table there and have to recommend the recipe I got from a book.Cut the wings off last night and left the skin on,gave them another rinse before cooking them today.
Ray and black butter:Drop your wings into a pan,throw in 1xchopped onion,few spigs of parsley,2xtable spoons of white wine vinegar and a pinch of salt.Cover in cold water,bring to the boil,cover and simmer for 15mins.
Take the ray out skin it(skin fell off easy after cooking) and put into a dish,cover and keep warm.
Black butter:Melt butter in the pan,add two spoons of white wine vinegar and some chopped parsley.
Poor the butter over the ray and serve.
Fed four of us there and went down well with everyone

I have heard if you are going to keep ray for the table it is best to wing them as soon as possible after dispatch to prevent the ammonia building up. Never tried it myself but it may be worth doing just to see.
On the holding of thornbacks. If you look at the cheeks (each side of the snout in front of the eyes) you will see thornless depressions which look as if they are made for a finger and thumb. By holding the fish there with one or both hands depending on size you will be no-where near the mouth and you will achieve the standard ray photograph pose which will satisfy any fish welfare questioning that may arise. My only thought on the holding of a table fish by the tale could be is stress in any way linked with the release of ammonia in the body.
Does anyone keeping ray bleed the fish out by cutting the gill rakers after dispatch??

like to be gentle with them in order to cause as little stress as possible to the fish,but thats just me
Tight lines

No stress then in Getting a 4/0 hook stuck in your mouth, and being dragged from the depths into the shore, to be handled 'gently' before being returned

No stress then in Getting a 4/0 hook stuck in your mouth, and being dragged from the depths into the shore, to be handled 'gently' before being returned [/quote]
Yera Paddy grow up

lads having never caught a thornback I was just wondering why the female looks as if she is covered in lumps? I'm guessing it might be where the thorn protrude.

Well done on the catch, im sure the double header put a nice wee bend in the rod?

another reciepie for ray is to bake it in the oven on top of a brick. after 20mins take it out and eat the brick!!!!! add which ever condiments u like

lads having never caught a thornback I was just wondering why the female looks as if she is covered in lumps? I'm guessing it might be where the thorn protrude.

Well done on the catch, im sure the double header put a nice wee bend in the rod?

Resident fish have more thorns. Nice fishing.

Nice report mate and well done on the Ray. Hope the brother gets one soon.

No stress then in Getting a 4/0 hook stuck in your mouth, and being dragged from the depths into the shore, to be handled 'gently' before being returned

Haha Paddy breaking me balls laughing at that!

another reciepie for ray is to bake it in the oven on top of a brick. after 20mins take it out and eat the brick!!!!! add which ever condiments u like

Another belly acher but us Dubs love a bit of pissy Ray Probably the reason theres feck all left on the east coast haha!

nice rays there man. just a pity your brother did'nt get one, but sure there's always next time