THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

Skate ‘kebab’
But long before the bait goes on the hook, the barb will have
been squashed down using a pair of pliers so it can be removed
easily with a long reach T-bar disgorger if a fish takes deep or
swallows it.
The only drawback here is that without the barb, bait can
become dislodged from the hook. So a half inch square of
rubber cut from an old car inter-tube is pushed onto the hook
and up over the squashed barb 'bump' to ensure this can't
happen, creating the perfect big stream-lined bait with its own
rubby dubby source attached.
Obviously, the reel is set on ratchet, but not so light on the
drag that line is yielded in the tide. Big skate areas tend to be
quite tidal over a base of sand and mud, though invariably,
most of the action comes as the tide eases away, allowing the
fish more freedom to forage and feed.
Sometimes an interested fish will take line. On other occasions
it can be no more than a series of bumps and tugs as it settles
over the bait to eat it, after which it may not move much at
all.
Timing the strike is something to be decided on a fish by fish
basis, though not so much a strike in the conventional definition of the word as winding hard in to the
fish, then pulling at it to have the hook penetrate its thick skin.
After that it's a case of hanging on while applying maximum pressure for as long as it takes until you
break its suction with the seabed, which when you do, must be taken full advantage of by lifting and
holding the fish clear if you can so it doesn't get back down, which I know is easier said than done.
Though still hard graft, and often with a few power dives along the way, the journey all those hundreds
of feet up usually isn't too bad. It's when you get it to the boat, and worse still inside the boat that the
real problems can start, unless you have prepared well.
This involves the use of two heavy duty stainless steel gaffs - one for the fleshy leading edge of each
wing, inserted well clear of the body cavity with the fish top side facing upwards on the surface.
Struggling with a single gaff will do neither you or the fish any favours. A two gaff lift placing the skate
gently on to the deck is the way to do it, at which point, despite the size, it will usually lie there
motionless accepting of its situation.
At this point you can lift up the nose to expose the mouth for retrieving the hook. This is also the stage
at which existing tags are read or new ones are put in and photographs or measurements can be taken.
But don't take too long about it. They soon start to redden up where they should be white, indicating
they've been out of the water for too long.
All of that done, as quickly as you can, work a piece of trawl netting or tarpaulin underneath the fish
allowing you to lift it at the four corners up on to the side of the boat then slide it back into the water
and away.
To the uninitiated, sticking gaffs into a fish can sound cruel and potentially damaging, but tagged
recaptures and inspection of historical scars have shown that while it can't be much fun for them, neither
is it harmful. So much so that some fish have been caught on multiple occasions, and every so often
you get the same fish coming up more than once in the same day.
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