I agree they are terrific sport. On ki last summer me and some mates found the eagle ray honey hole and had a heap of fun catching one after the other. We were berleying up and catching gar, cubing them and using them as bait. A couple of them launched clean out of the water flapping away. Blistering runs. I was using a big egg beater, 50lb braid and 24kg rod. My mate had an overhead with i think 8kg mono. I preferred tight drag on my setup, easier and quicker to land. The first couple we brought on board but after that just used pliers to take hook out at side of boat.