Bad news at the Bridge
 

1. There's a brown algae bloom.

2. There's a ray invasion.

Both are early this year.

http://www.mountainsoul.net/bbrays

http://www.mountainsoul.net/bbrays3

They are in Eastern Bay in force....:mad:

Doesn't look like you can get a bait through that:eek:.........Gary

I think the price of retrieving snagged anchors just went up.

Man , I hate those winged demons :eek:

Great. Chumming is just getting good. The last thing we need is a couple of rods going down with those things.

Shawn,
We never seen one today but if they are bunched up like that we are in trouble:eek:

What would cause both of those? (The gnarly looking algae AND the nasty rays).....

The water was GREAT last week....pretty clear, no algae and the White Perch were biting well.

The Cownose ray population has been growing roughly 10% every year for the past 15 years or so.
The large inshore sharks that feed on rays were killed off by recs and comm. fishing. Big Bulls , Lemons , Hammerheads are scarce now.
Some estimate the shark population at about 5 %.
Hammerheads are about 2 %.
With no commercial value and very questionable table fare - rays just keep breeding.

The brown water is sorta tied into the rays. The devour oysters and clams that filter the water.

Each year - water quality gets worse and the dissolved oxygen levels are shallower each year. One reason we are seeing bigger Rock in 25 feet.
Years ago - they would hang out near 40 feet of water.

Maybe we need to thin the herd... Who wants to have a CBAngler trash fish tournament for the biggest ray.. :D

And blues are there too Shawn, had a clean bite off on Saturday.

Summer is here early.

Greg,
Hans and I are gonna try bow-fishing for them this year. Talked to a mate down south, he said they make good (not great) crab trap bait. We are gonna test that theory. Looks like I better get my gear together.
Cheers,
Bob

Bob, You are wasting your time trying to use the rays for crab bait. They would be fun to shoot with a bow though............Gary

Thanks for the info. Does the western side look like that too?

I have question, I'm not hijacking the thread. When I fished on the De. Bay everyone said those cownosed rays were very poisonous. The stinger at the base of their tail was supposed to be 1 1/2" long and if stung it was the same venum as a king cobra snake. You would halocignate and be in the hospital for 2 weeks. Is this true?

Things are indeed firing early this year. We tore the 12 inch croakers up yesterday, so the good is going along with the bad. Real drag about the algae blooms though.

As for the cow nose rays and the stingers? Yes, I do believe that those suckers do have stingers, but someone should confirm this...

I don't think it's as bad as a king cobra, but a lot worse than a bee sting. I've read about people who thought they were gonna die after getting hit by one. Capt. John Smith got a stinger in the leg on one of his explorations and went as far as planning his burial. Turns out he recovered fast and ate the culprit for dinner.

Shawn your right about the Rays they are early. It's loaded with them by my house this weekend. Here is one that we caught at the dock.
Attachment 270

As the Ray population continues to grow - expect to see them earlier and in more places.
Last summer I saw a few about 3 miles up in the Severn - first time ever in 35 years being on that water.

Funny thing - some dive charters in other countries are benefitting from this.
The Rays migrate far south in winter and scuba divers will pay to see them underwater. Talk about making lemonade from lemons.

They do have a barbed stinger close to where the tail meets their body. The tail itself can be used like a whip :eek:.

Love to see someone figure out a use for them. The damage they do to oysters and clams is unreal. They even root up sea grass going after soft crabs.

In late summer - heard of them grabbing crabs off trotlines.

Maybe it is time to try one for dinner!!!

"Trish Murphey, biologist with the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), tasted cownose ray at a Virginia Sea Grant conference.

Murphey said the texture was “pleasant, not chewy,” and the flavor was very mild.

“All of the samples I tried were either marinated or served with a sauce, probably because the taste was so mild,” she said"

http://www.islandfreepress.org/2008A...ytimeSoon.html

:)

OK Greg....you go first....several times. ... and report back!:D:D

Was at Shipping Creek today standing on the new finger peir and noticed several rays IN THE RAMP! they were in 5 - 8 inches of water just hanging out. I spooked them and the ran, but I have never seen that.

TED