MEET THE BAT RAY
OCTOBER 18TH, 2022
One of the cool things about living in Southern California is the accessibility to the ocean. Lots of sandy beaches and ocean activities that comes with it. However, with millions of people living here, the beach often is a crowded, chaotic affair.
One of my escapes is go to the beach at night. The sounds of the surf calms my mood, along with the saline fragrance and breeze. I mentioned grunion hunting is a previous blog, but there’s many sea creatures that venture out in the darkness of night to feed.
Meet the bat ray. More specifically, an eagle ray. This particular species is found from the Oregon coast down to Baja California. Feeding on mollusks that lie on the sandy sea floor or buried beneath. It uses its shovel like nose to unearth its meal. With tremendous jaw strength, it crushes its prey and proceeds to swallow them. Since their food isn’t typically slippery, teeth aren’t necessary and they have little nubs used for grinding.
To catch these incredible fish, I experimented with a couple of rig set ups and determined which suited my needs the best. I’m into simplicity, so off the shelf stuff is best for me. I use a 7 foot surf pole, salt water spin reel, 30 lb. braided main line (white for visibility) and 30 lb. monofilament fly line for use to tie the leader swivel. Before I tie the swivel, I use a sliding weight swivel and use a pyramid weight. I use a bead between the weight and the swivel so the weight doesn’t constantly crush the swivel in the surf. The weight is determined by the current conditions of the night. Between 1-3 ounces usually works out. Then I use a wire leader that snaps onto the barrel swivel and a 2.0 S/E hook. The leader I use is black so it helps hide all the hardware.
Living in Southern California also has its benefits when it comes to bait for bat rays and sharks. There are several Korean grocery stores sprinkled throughout the southland and they sell squid very inexpensively. Usually under 4 dollars, one squid will last 2 or 3 nights of fishing. I like to use squid because it gives off a strong scent for the fish to find, its whitish color makes it easy to see, and the best part is that the texture and firmness of the flesh stays on the hook through all the surf and currents and nibbles.
The one pictured above was about 25 lbs. They are incredibly strong and put up a spirited fight. They grow to an amazing 100 lbs.! The biggest one I hauled in was about 70 lbs. and took over an hour to beach it. I didn’t have a long enough knife to cut the ‘wings’ off to eat. It is said to taste like scallops. Next time!