Sting Ray Crazy

Last week my brother invited me to go fishing with him aboard Our Mary and I jumped at the offer never having done some bottom fishing. Saturday started early with a quick cup of coffee and a small bite. Then it was off to pick him up and down to the marina. Upon arrival he had the usual tasks to do... apart from taking tourists who come to Madeira big game fishing, he also tends to five yachts in the Funchal Marina. Quick check up to see if all was good and then it was time to set up the rigs for the bottom fishing. As the morning was chilly another coffee was in order, so it was off to the nearest coffee shop and some more fish stories. About ten minutes later I had the pleasure of meeting Jud Hamblin, one of Lutys regular fishing buddies. Having never done bottom fishing it was difficult to follow the conversation as it jumped from types of reel to rods. In the end I gave up, and appreciated the conversation.

Off to the boat again and then to pick up some fresh bait at the local fish depot. Seeing Luty with two buckets of mackerel, I started wondering why so much bait, later I would come to understand why. After the bait was on board we were off in the direction of Camara de Lobos. I won´t dare mention the exact spot of our anchorage as my brother might not appreciate it (don’t worry boet your secrets are safe with me). A quick exchange of witty remarks and the fishing started. The Captain of the boat came down and scooped up some Mackerel and begun to cut them up into small peaces, placing them in a bag, and with a rod letting them sink to the bottom. Some quick questions on my part on what should and should not be done and I was off fishing with the rest.

Jud was the first to get hooked up. I was informed on what fish we were fishing for but had absolutely no idea at what they were capable of. With some effort Jud began to reel the fish in. That’s when I got my first taste of hearing line being taken back, and things started to get exciting. It took about 20 minutes to bring the sting ray alongside the boat, and then I had my first glimpse of a sting ray up close. Though I must say that when I saw its mouth it kind of reminded me of a bats mouth. Luty was quick to get the hook out as not to make the sting suffer any longer than needed. One down and more to come.

The next to get hooked was Luty, his sting was no exception also making a good fight. It’s a lot of fun watching someone reel a sting ray in. You need a lot of patience as it does not happen with one go. Various times line is lost, and so you must fight to gain on the fish, and with friends cheering you on, it can be quite funny.

My first ray was no real big challenge and within 20 minutes it was tagged and released. My highlight of the day was when I was given the pleasure of reeling in a fairly big ray on a light weight rod and reel. Believe me boys, its no easy task. I must have spent about 15 minutes trying to reel the ray in. Luty was already starting to doubt whether I would be able to bring her up. Being the kind brother that he is, he added a harness that attaches the rod and reel to a back thus taking off some of the weight from your lower back . Another 15 minutes of gruelling effort to bring her up and slowly but surely I gained on the fish. Upon seeing a white reflection in the water, my motivation began to rise and another five minutes and I had her alongside the boat. By the end of the fishing trip we had caught and released about ten sting rays.

Thinking that the entertainment was close to an end, I was given the rare opportunity to see a morey eel up close, and as much as I would like to say personal, as soon as it hit the deck I was quick to flee up the steps to get away from it. Unfortunately for the morey eels the captain enjoys them too much and so into the bucket it went.

Total fish caught :10 Sting rays and 3 morey eels.

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So much effort ?

Coming Soon !
Find out what fish makes this rod bend so much.

Weely Photos

Velozes
This weeks photo was taken by Helena Encarnação and titled "velozes" which roughly translated would be swift or speedy. Helena has great underwater photos of various fish and sea life, a visit to her site will definately be worth the visit. ilhas-encantadas.blogspot.com

Weekly Photos

Sweet Lips
This weeks photo was also taken at the aquarium in Lisbon. Some of fish there seem to love the extra attention they recieve from visitors. This fish was no exception, coming right up to the glass and giving us a beady eye stare. Can anyone identify this fish ?

Weekly Photos

This weeks photo was taken at the oceanarium in Lisbon last year whilst on holiday. Arn´t Sea Horses usually more Humback ? If ever you are passing through Lisbon, the oceanarium is a good spot to stop. You can visit there site on www.oceanario.pt

Spearfishing in Calheta

This weekend Claudio, Luty and I decided to head down to Calheta to do some spearfishing. Two weeks before I had dived the spot which resulted in two good mullets and a sea bream. Claudio too had had previous good spearfishing at this spot, resulting in various mullets, sea bream and the occasional amberjack.

Upon arrival we were met by clear seas, calm weather and lots of sun. Within 20 minutes we were in the water, heading in the direction of the wave breakers. Calheta is a good spot due to all the wave breakers that join, creating perfect holes for all types of fish mainly sea bream and mullet. On the surface while searching for fish I noticed Luty dive down and slowly approach a wave breaker and suddenly it became apparent what he was going after. The poor octopus had no chance, all I saw was a black cloud of ink and Luty smiling happily to the surface.
Shortly after we caught up with Claudio surfacing with a sea bream freshly plucked from a nice hole. After some good laughs and quick exchange of good hole sites we were off again. We swam for another ten minutes parallel to the wave breakers when Luty decided to go down after some mullet, shot and missed but on his way up he noticed some amberjack on the move. Claudio had just dived down and was about to enter a hole when Luty´s frantic mumbling in the water caught his attention. Meanwhile the amberjack had already spotted Claudio and where curious to have a closer look. Bad move, Claudio had just enough time to turn and put a good shot in one. Not wanting to dive down for safety reasons I waited till Claudio started to surface. Eager to get a shot in I began to dive down but too late, Luty was there putting a another good shot into an amberjack. Deprived of my first amberjack I surfaced quickly taking a good breath and went back down, trying to stay as long as possible in fruitless hope of having a shot at one . After both fish were stringed up it was back to patrolling.

After a good time in the water we thought that all the fish action was gone, but Luty begged to differ. Quick breath and down he went in search of fish, on the top both Claudio and I were watching. It seemed as though he would never surface until we heard the distinctive sound of a speargun being fired and then the struggle began. Luty was fiercely trying to get the fish out of its hole, spearshaft bending slightly at the force of the fish and his pull. Then as a mother takes a baby to her chest, so he too did with his 2.5 Kg mullet, all that lacked the moment was a good kiss from spearo to fish. Reaching the surface he was greeted by good cheers and a quick hand at helping him string his fish.

A good end to a good days spearfishing.

Weekly Photos

Hey out there!
Every week Fish Frenzie will be posting a photo related to the sea or sea life. This weeks photo was taken by Rogério in Brazil. If you want to see more of his photos search for them on www.spearfishing.com