Fishing for Thornback Rays

The early spring is the most unproductive period of the angling calendar, even for boat anglers. The cod and whiting of the winter are long gone, tope and bream rarely show before early May, and it takes until June for the reef systems to really fill up with pollack and bass. But you can rely on thornback ray to fill that void.

LOCATION
Three main areas should be targeted for the best sport. The sandbanks out from the Thames Estuary, the Welsh side of the Bristol Channel, and especially the ports of Aberystwyth, Aberdovey and Pwllheli in Mid Wales. It's usually a good month after these areas show their first fish that grounds in Morecambe Bay also begin to hold fish in numbers.

SEASON
In a mild year, the first thornies may be located by the end of February, but it's usually into March before boats can expect real results. The best of the fishing begins in late March, April sees catches peak, with early May bringing a downturn.

Grounds off Aberystwyth and Aberdovey are usually the first to see fish with the Thames Estuary only a couple of weeks behind. The Bristol Channel marks also seem to lag behind the West Coast marks by a couple of weeks.

FISH HOLDING FEATURE
Thornbacks are always linked with clean sandy ground. This is true to a certain extent, but these rays are happy to move over shingle banks and to take up residence on the cleaner patches of sand amidst heavy rough and reef systems. This is especially so in this spring period when the females move in to shallower water to drop their egg cases.

Note also, where steep cliffs fall straight into the sea onto clean sand. Thornbacks will move very close to the junction of sand and cliff, again to deposit the egg cases. Depths of only 20ft and even less do not put these rays off.

Use the boats sounder to pin point definite gutters and deeper channels that pick a route across the seabed. These often follow the direction of the strongest tides. Thornbacks like to take up station in these, cover themselves with sand, letting the tide sweep over the top of them and bring them food.

Area of undulating sandbanks will attract them. They tend to sit along the base where the incline starts, occasionally moving up the incline on the downtide side picking food off as it is swept over the tops of the banks. During slack water periods some rays will move on to the peaks of the banks and literally sun themselves if the water is clear and shallow.

Thornbacks have a liking for marks fairly close to estuaries at this time. The banks and gullies created by the out flowing tide gives them cover for feeding. Such marks can often give the best catches with as many as 40 to 50 rays possible on the right day.The more astute anglers realise that all these marks will have a run of tide. Peak numbers of thornies are always adjacent, or actually in, ground that has moving water. Flat featureless sand will hold rays, but not many, and these will always be the smaller fish.

TACKLE
For standard downtide fishing, a 20lb class rod 7ft long coupled to a multiplier taking 300 yards of 20lb line is the best choice. This will handle the largest expected rays easily, even in a fair tide. On the other hand, if water depth exceeds 100ft and you're fishing a fast running spring tide, then the 30lb class rod and reel may prove better.

Areas of shallower water, but again with that fast tide like off the Thames estuary and inside the Bristol Channel, are more suited to the uptide rod casting the bait well away from the boat. Such rods need to cast 6 to 8ozs of lead and a decent bait. The length should be no less than 9.5ft, with more experienced anglers favouring rods of 10ft with very supple tips. This soft tip gives with the movement of the boat and stops the grip lead being constantly dragged free from the seabed.

Mid sized casting multipliers should be chosen like the ABU 7000 and the Daiwa SL20. Load these with 18lb line. Smaller beach casting reels do not have the required strength to haul fish back against the tide.

RIGS
Most anglers, if asked about rigs for downtide fishing, would instantly say "Running ledger". Certainly, having the lead free to slide along the main line mounted either on a boom, or just to a swivel, does account for many rays when there is little tide running and the boat is at anchor. Hook lengths of upto 6ft and of 40lb line are all that's necessary.

When drift fishing for rays, then a much longer length of line is needed to make the bait work more naturally as it is dragged along the bottom. Go for at least 12ft, but ignore the sliding ledger principle which is pointless for this style of fishing. Mount the trace on a blood loop tied in to the main trace just behind the sinker.

For uptide casting, use a rig made from 30ins of 50lb line with a strong swivel tied to the top. Tie in a blood loop leaving at least 9ins of line below this which takes a strong splitring for sinker attachment. Some anglers dispense with the blood loop and trap a small swivel with beads and crimps. When using a long tailed lead you can trap the swivel actually on the wire of the tail which breaks the lead out clean as a fish moves away.

The hook trace needs to be between 4 and 6ft of 40lb line and for safety always mount the bait on one of the wires on the grip lead so that it does not catch another angler as you are casting. Also, shout "Casting" just prior to doing so to warn everybody.

Hooks should only be 2/0 to 4/0. Big 6/0s often fail to penetrate the thick jaws of a thornback, even when pulling them hard against a decent tide run. Sharp points and reducing the barb on the hook is the key to the successful hooking of rays.

Squid are an idea bait

These can be presented, either as a whole fillet, or half a fillet for drift fishing, and in chunks cut straight through the body for static ledgering when numbers of rays are about. When fish are scarce try using the head and guts, or a flapper bait with the backbone removed, but with the fillets still attached to the head.

Early season fish do seem partial to a combination of frozen mackerel and small, whole Calamari squid. Another one to try is fresh whiting, either in chunks, or use the whole small fish, but with the flanks lacerated with a knife to release scent. Forget worm baits etc, for serious ray work.

TECHNIQUE
Fishing on the drift is best done by releasing about 50 yards of line off the reel using enough lead to keep the bait firmly at seabed level. The reel should be in free spool and the check on, but with enough drag on the spool so that it cannot give line easily. When a ray pounces on the bait the check will talk to indicate a bite.

When uptiding, make sure you release plenty of line as the sinker hits the sea after the cast. Watch how the tide pressure on the line pulls the rod tip hard over. Should this spring straight, this indicates a bite or that the sinker has pulled free.

Most rays signal on the rod tip by gently nodding a few times, then the rod tip pulls over. When you see this, pick up the rod, wind in the slack line, then strike into the fish. Some rays will try a very short run taking a few yards of line, but mostly it's just passive resistance.

When playing rays in fast tides don't allow them to plane on the surface by having the rod tip too high. If the ray is on the surface far behind the boat drop your rod tip to the side and horizontal. This keeps the strain off the hook hold.

TIPS
Thornbacks often congregate and feed in areas where there is a little colour in the water. The downtide edges of reefs and sandbanks, and patches of muddy sediment.

Cut some small, loose cubes of fish and throw these in to the tide. These act as groundbait and will help bring fish towards you when anchored.

When rays are reluctant to feed try using small strips of fish on strong size 1 hooks. This often surprises and brings the biggest fish of the day.