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Coights biggest eagle ray!


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Got out a couple of times this weekend for a bit of exercise before the rocky and greenly trip later on this month. Sat was tough, hooked up to about 15 eagles but only managed to tag and release 4.Yesterday was a bit of a different story, tho we still managed to loose quite a few to the rocks, we did however tag and release another 4 of far greater size.1onmepillie got the phone call fromn the Mrs "you need to pick up the boys at 4:30.. No problems it was just after 3.. When i got a blistering run on 37kg line class (testing the new diablo reel) This ray didn't surface like any of the others, so we had no idea of the size, all i knew was it was bloody weighty.The first run took around 100m of line with about 15kg's of drag dialed up on the diablo, it almost ripped me out of the boat a couple of times. Got this thing back to the boat and all he wanted to do was hang around near the bottom.. unable to move this thing for 15- 20 mins, the body was getting sore. Untill it decided to sruface.. Oh my F'ing god!! have a look at that!!All in all the battle took 40 mins before adam somehow dragged it over the side (one armed too!) it measured 161cm across the wings it's head was about a foot heigh off the deck. I put a tag in him and then threaded the rope through his ears so we could weigh him. my scales maxxed out at 55 kg's with less than half of the beast off the deck. Adam also had a go at lifting the beast. we both have caught a lot of these but never of this magnitude. We are estimating that it would have weighed 80 + kg's.We rang the club weight recorder, who unfortunatly didn't have the scales to be able to properly weigh it. Spewing it would have been an australian record!!! but at the time we wern't to know.

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cheers all. it was well worth the wait and enduring the weather on the weekend. I really rate the diablo reel, bang for ya buck! the first hookup had me worried what i had bought, the drag was all jerky like a cheap k mart reel, tho the when i hooked this one it had sorted its self out.Spoke to my mate at sport fishing scene, he said they need to bed in.. too true. stoked with my purchase. the rod is a rapala braid concept, only rated to 50lb, but it had no drama's with the huge ray. i'll see if adam wants to upload the pic of the rod loaded up.me thinks the sampsons off rocky are going to be in serious trouble.Haha the ray looks photogenic, i say i have to agree. i always look like some sort of sea urchin and not very photogenic.. :)

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  • 3 months later...

ive seen a eagle ray similar or size or bigger taken on a pro long line off tunkalilla beach took two blokes to drag it in the boat it nearly pulled the deckie in when he was pulling the line up, it busted the brick off the bottom and it was something around 500 pound plus and towed the buoy over a km from where it was dropped!! they are very powerful critters :ohmy:

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  • 1 year later...

Last summer i caught one a bit larger than that off grange jetty estimating it at a wing span of 190 to 200 cms took 5 blokes to lift with a drop gaf but never managed to get it over the rail and it fell off the gaf and my 80lb trace snapped due to getting caught on the rope. when i was looking over the rail at it the head on this thing was so wide and deep and the wings were covering half the end of the jetty if not more i was soo shocked that i managed to get this thing in it took and hour and 20 mins to pull in on 50 lb braid. It had multiple runs the first being over 300 meters and short 100 and 50 meter bursts through out the fight until finally it retired at the end of the jetty flapping around. I was using a penn spinfisher 950 with about 450 m of 50lb braid on a 7ft cheapie 12 kilo pelagic ebay rod i tell u what it did its job without any problem what so ever. Spewwing i was un able to get a photo and land this thing on the jetty as it was the largest eaglie i have ever seen. When the line snapped i laid on the jetty for a good 15 mins catching my breath and uncramping my arms till finally i just let out a loud fudgeeeeeeeeeeeee.

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  • 1 year later...

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