This King Kong Stingray Adventure Is The Stuff Of Legend

There is something strangely exhilarating about fishing for a creature that could hurt or kill you. The stingray is, of course, one of those creatures. While manta rays and porcupine rays don’t have stingers, the tail on all other kinds of stingray is barbed and venomous, and stingrays will use it if danger is near. Be careful if you plan on catching a stingray; don’t touch it near or on its tail, and wear heavy duty gloves in case of an incident. If a stingray feels threatened, or if they’re simply handed roughly or spooked, they will whip their tails forward like a scorpion and attack.

Photo Credit: BlacktipH On Youtube Channel

Stingrays enjoy sandy, shallow waters, which is why fishing for stingrays on the shore is your best bet if you want to snag one. Best Fishing Reels – Saltwater reels come in many shapes and sizes, but there are certain reels that are specially optimized for inshore stingray fishing. Avoid reels that are optimized for offshore fishing. Use an inshore reel that is made for flats, kayak and paddle board saltwater fishing.

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Stingray Fishing Spots – Stingrays can be caught by the shores of the ocean; they’re most attracted to shallow coastal water.

The roughtail stingray, for example, inhabits nearly the entire Atlantic coast, including the northwestern, eastern, and southwestern parts.

This means they can be spotted from the Florida coast as well as way up into parts of the eastern Atlantic shores of Canada. This particular type of stingray typically inhabits the sandy floor of the sea, but can rise up when searching for food.

American round stingrays are most attracted to the warm and tropical marine coasts in particular; you’ll have a good chance of finding an American round on the shores of Florida, Louisiana, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. Certain kinds of stingray inhabit the shores of the Pacific Ocean as well; the eastern parts in particular. Manta rays — which are the largest type of ray, growing as large as 23 feet across — live deep in the Pacific Ocean as well as near the shore.

Certain types of stingray can also be found on the edges of estuaries (where the river meets the ocean).

Here are some quick tips for catching stingray:

Large stingrays will put up a fight once they realize they’re in danger. Be sure to hang on to your line.
Stingrays tend to frequent clear seas and feed most often in the daylight. They hunt for food wherever crab can be found, such as along the parts were the mud and sand meets rock.
Stingray enjoy the surf shore, and will stay less than 50 yards out.
The best conditions in which to catch a stingray is middle tide, late in the morning and early in the afternoon.

On the other hand, stingrays tend to stay away from polluted water, rough conditions and won’t be seen during a storm. Shoot for gentle, clear conditions.

Best Stingray Bait – Stingrays are actually not very picky when it comes to their food; many different types of bait can be used successfully. However, king ragworm bait has proven to be the more consistent bait when it comes to snagging stingray. Peeler and soft crab can also work as bait, especially when fishing by the shoreline. If you’re using king ragworm, be sure to cut it up. Stingrays hunt by smell, and cutting the bait into sections will allow the juice and scent to diffuse into the surrounding water, attracting the stingray. Similarly, if you’re fishing with crab on the line, cut it up into sections to allow it to diffuse.

Fishing With Friends – Everyone knows the best way to fish is by relaxing and sharing a cold one with your buddies. That’s a no-brainer. There’s nothing better than drinking an ice cold beverage and feeling your blood pump as soon as something as large and in charge as a stingray hooks onto the end of your fishing line.

We estimated this particular stingray to be around 200 lbs. This is the type of stingray that catches a huge fish, devours it, and then spits the carcass out. This is the kind of stingray that all the other fish in the sea are afraid of.

Good luck with catching those giant stingrays!