[fishnfooltlm]

The swell forecast on noaa is 5' to 6',,,in So. Cal. this weekend,,Can anyone tell me why its bigger than normal?? And does anyone ever cook or eat the spider crabs they catch hooping for bugs?? How about bat rays caught at Catalina,,can they throw thier barb like the eagle ray did in florida that stuck the guy on his boat in the marina?? And do they sting with thier tail?? Thanks for any input on these subjects..

Tom
2101WA STRIPER

 

[blackfish]

Don't know about the swells

Crabs...some people et them...I hear the meat in the legs is very tasty, but you need a sledge hammer to get to it..

The bat ray does have a stinger (barb). When you say throw the stinger, I assume you mean move it up, down and around when trying to defend themselves.....in that case, yes, they can throw the stinger. But if mean throw it as in "throw it live a javelin", then no they can not.

 

[Sam I Am]

Friend of mine got stung by sting ray pulling up a net a few weekends ago. If you see a sting ray, just flip the net over with a boat hook or lower it into the water and encourage it to leave. A little more tricky if there's a legal size lobster in there as well. But be careful, the sting is pretty nasty.

 

[LS]

A stingray is round in shape, has the barb at the end of the tail and can whip the tail to embed it.

Batray have more pronounce "wings", a taller head, thinner tail and have the barb at the base of the tail so you pretty much have to step on it or have the whole fish slide or swim into you.

Torpedo rays look similar to stingrays but will shock the "Brown 25" out of you if you try to net it with an aluminum net while diving and would imagine if you tried to pluck one out of a hoop net. I only have experience with the aluminum net.

 

[fishnfooltlm]

Thanks 4 the replys,,,i really appreciate it,,do we have torpedo rays in So.Cal.?? And they actually throw out an electric current?? I wont be using anything aluminum around them,,aluminum,,water and current,,no thanx...So who out thier has actually ate a spider crab???

Tom
2101WA STRIPER

 

[sharkhunter.72]

I lived in florida for a while and delt with many giant rays and small rays. none of them can throw a barb. i do encourage you not to break the barb off though because they grow two back in its place and so on and so on. Some of the 200 pounds we would drag up would have a fan of them at the base of their bodies. those you had to watch out for! when they go wiping that bodies around they can slash at you. but anyways they cant throw a barb, just stick you and maybe break it off in you. when we would catch bull and tiger sharks they would have barbs all over their faces from eating those things. it was cool to see and image the fight that must have taken place because the ray won.

 

[stambob]

The big male spider crabs are excellent eating, the bulk of the meat is in the body, the legs are a pain to get the meat out of, but the claws are worth the trouble.Yes, we do have electric rays here, and they will shock the heck out of ya. The big swells are being generated by the strong winds out in the pacific. Most of the crabs now are females, and have very little meat. The big males show up in the spring and stay till early summer. I've gotten them up to 14 lbs.I don't keep any crabs under about 7 lbs.

 

[fishnfooltlm]

Really intersting stuff..I have caught some huge spider crabs and thrown them back,,,next time i get something n the 7 lb range i will boil it up ,,,when we go to catalina or the L.A. harbor breakwater we always catch rays,,mostly the thick headed bat rays,,they r alot of fun to catch,,sand shark too,,i always just cut the line when we get them to the boat,,thanx 4 all the info,,,

Tom
2101WA STRIPER

 

[ButtFish]

THE SWELL is coming from Hawaii (Pineapple Express); should die out this week, OR NOT! (Check out the swell model @ http://www.revosurf.com/forecasts/surf/socal-swell-model.shtml

ButtFish
Fish Hard, Fish Naked