THE ULTIMATE ANGLING BUCKET LIST

STING RAY Dasyatis pastinaca
Bucket List status – result
Stingray ‘sting’
The whip like tail with a sharp serrated
venomous spine at its base will immediately
set the stingray apart from all other home
waters species, except maybe for one, the
eagle ray.
Points of difference between the two are
that in the eagle ray, the eyes are set into the
sides of an almost separate slightly raised
and protruding head, whereas those of the
stingray are more conventionally placed on
top with only the tinniest hint of a snout
appearing from its otherwise flat facial
profile.
The tail of the eagle ray is also very long
and whip like with a short dorsal fin immediately in front of the spine In contrast, and a key
distinguishing feature here, is that stingrays have no dorsal fin and the tail is very much shorter.
Colouration can be variable with olive green through to brown being the most common shades.
Of particular note is the thickness of this fish along its central ridge. It can appear almost triangular in
cross section, the wing bases being especially thick, making it potentially a very powerful fish.
There was a time during the 1970's and early 80's when stingray fishing really seemed to grab the
angling public's attention. I'm not sure if that was down to increased availability, increased awareness,
or just general angler interest levels. But you certainly don't hear too much about them in the angling
press these days.
Back then, reports were an almost weekly occurrence, particularly in and around the Thames Estuary
from both the boats and the shore. St. Osyth beach was especially famed for them to the point of holding
stingray competitions.
Moving northwards, both the Welsh boat and shore records have been held from Aberdovey and
Fairbourne respectively, both of which are on estuaries in Cardigan Bay, which could just as easily be
a coincidence as a behavioural link.
We even had a short spate of them being caught up here in Lancashire at Cleveleys around the 1980's,
with specimens well topping twenty pounds caught from both the dinghies and the shore.
But although I fished the Thames Estuary and probably harboured hopes of catching one there, that
wasn't where I had my first stingray encounter, nor my best stingray experience.
I've caught stingrays in many parts of the world, and some big ones too. My very first taste however of
the power a stingray can turn on came while dinghy fishing out from Lymington on the Solent.
Steve Lill and I used to trail our boat down to Christchurch for a couple of weeks during the summer,
primarily to fish for thin lipped grey mullet in the lower Hampshire Avon just above Mudeford when
the tide times were right, but also heading offshore armed with a tray of nice juicy ragworms which
stingrays love when the early morning low water mullet fishing was off the agenda.
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