Quote:
Originally Posted by matesz H2O
i know that sting ray tastes really good cuz i cought it on a fishing line once befor but how does spearing one work? easy or not?
|
I do occasionally spear stingrays, and as you said, they taste pretty good, especially when bbqed or dried...
The stingrays i catch are usually btw 40-80cm in diameter... Here is the technique i use; quite simple: I try to stun them btw the eyes (hoping that this will stun it) from a relatively safe distance (usually from 2m meter, and with my 1m gun that makes abt 3m).
Now here comes the bit risky part: Note first that the head is quite hard, and also be very careful when you approach it, and approach it from its head direction rather than tail...So what i do in some cases (if the ray is bit agitated) is to pin the lower part of the ray with the tip of my gun, as to avoid a nasty barb wound (also the barb contains relatively mild toxins), while I stab it with my knife in its head. That should kill it. Sometimes I dont need to pin it at all, as the shot will have stunned it, but still i approach it very carefully from its head direction and quickly stab it with my knife... Sometimes just for safety, I might just go down and cut its tail with its bard but i know thats very risky and i only do it when im very confident that the ray is dead...
Also one last note: You have to very quickly clean your catch, as with rays and other cartilagenous fish (sharks etc...) the meat will soak with ammonia if u let it stand, thus making it unconsummable). So what i do on site is immediately clean the rays (I get 3nice filet from each ray): The 2wings, and the dorsal area, and remove the skin. Now for the leftover of the catch, i take it back to the sea and use it to chum and attract more fish, especially large barracudas, so u see, u can make a full use of the ray !!! ( I spearfish in Qatar - Persian Gulf, so the risk of encountering an aggressive species of shark is extremly low).
By the way, I use a 100cm gun with 20mm rubbers and 7mm spear
I hope that was useful !!!
Regards and have a safe hunt!!!!
