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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: two4hooking on July 16, 2018, 09:31:45 AM
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After a few years and on my third try for them foiled by fowl weather, I finally got some stingray on the boat!
(http://i.imgur.com/7OVNHrM.jpg) (https://imgur.com/7OVNHrM)
This past weekend I spent a fine day on the water with Maryland's Rob Davis (Son of the bowfishing pioneer of the same name). Had a blast! Weather was perfect and had a ton of shooting in the first few hours. I just couldn't seem to hit those buggers at first, despite being pretty good in my youth at carp.
Had chances at a few in the 90 -100 pound range before we started hitting them.
Brent got this 60 pounder first and unwisely had the line tied to his reel instead of a float! That bugger almost pulled his bow, and him in the drink before we could get another arrow into it. Good thing it wasn't one of the 90-100 pounders!
(http://i.imgur.com/ObzKXqJ.jpg) (https://imgur.com/ObzKXqJ)
I finally connected with a cow nosed when a pair came by the bow and I struck the trailing ray. Finally got one on the boat
(http://i.imgur.com/61Q6Zp0.jpg) (https://imgur.com/61Q6Zp0)
The wind picked up and things were harder to see. I put an arrow into a big Southern, but it pulled out when we were trying to get another arrow into it. I really wanted a southern.
I finally manged to hit one and we got it onboard as the wind really started making visibility very hard once we flushed the ray the first time. Almost blew my Sunset Hill bucket hat into the drink during the battle. I managed to catch it with one hand as it was flying away.
Victory! I managed to boat the Big-2 in Eastern Ray hunting.
(http://i.imgur.com/H5akhb8.jpg) (https://imgur.com/H5akhb8)
Have a good amount of meat now to play with. The meat is pretty good. Very delicate and not fishy at all. Can't wait to go back some day and try for the 100 pounders again.
(http://i.imgur.com/Kh1NCLu.jpg) (https://imgur.com/Kh1NCLu)
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Looks like a great time, and I am sure the meals from the meat will bring back all those memories!!!
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Looks like you guys had an awesome time! I love bowfishing, but have never been saltwater bowfishing. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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:clapper: :thumbsup:
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Congratulations!! Wonderful experience and that meat looks fantastic!
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Greg, good for you. You are persistent; nice photos.
Shick
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Wow, congrats on your accomplishment! Looks like it was a lot of fun! :clapper: :thumbsup:
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Those are some nice ones.
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If you have a good recipe for the big ones I've love to get it. Smaller ones are great, big ones have always been very strong tasting and very coarse meat...but it may be the difference in the rays (we only shoot stingrays) and the water (we shoot them in FL).
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Looks like one heck of an experience! Those are some big critters. Very cool photos
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I need to go do that..
,,Sam,,
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That looks like a blast. :thumbsup:
Congrats on connecting. :campfire:
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Yep! That’s on my bucket list, for sure!!!!
Congrats!!!!
Bisch
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
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Awesome..
:thumbsup:
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I've received a few questions...
I don't think I would hunt them if I didn't eat them. Yes, they are over abundant now in the bay because their major predator, the sharks, have been over-harvested... but they have a lifespan of up to 13 years in the wild and research is still ongoing.
I have heard reports of 50 or so being shot in a day and I am sure they are not keeping the meat. The antis had a field day with a few recent tournaments, where the boats weighed and then just dumped their "catch" in plain view. While it may be legal, that just ruins it for those who want to responsibly enjoy our resources and hunt them without wanton waste.
At least take them away and use them for crab bait, or fertilizer, or donate them to someone (Asians) who would enjoy them.
Just don't ruin it for everyone else.
Just my 2 cents.
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If I had a recipe to make the large ones edible, I'd eat them. Tried them several times, no luck. The guides and locals love for us to kill as many as possible. They are like water coyotes.
Clams and oysters are a big industry where we fish. The guide I go with has a regular job at a clam processor...he's been stung 17 times, I think, mostly when seeding beds.
Fishing is big business there also, and the rays are a huge nuisance. Hang one, might as well break the line because you won't land it. Even if you did, you got nothing and are burning up your fishing time. Hooks and leaders are money, and it takes time to re-rig. Time is money.
If anything, the locals love to see us and our bows. Haven't found anyone that will take them, boat captains don't know of anyone or have a use for them, not going to haul them home for fertilizer. We don't make a show of it when we get rid of them...normally nobody but us knows. Crabs gotta' eat too.
I respect your thoughts on it, but mine are different. I grew up in the country on a farm and I know sometimes there are critters that need thinned out even if you can't utilize it. Fire ants, roaches, armadillos, coyotes to name a few.
Antis are antis. There's no way a hunter or fisherman could appease them, and I have no intention of wasting my time trying. That's like trying to pet a cobra. No matter how nice you are, you'll still get bitten sooner or later.
Still open to recipe suggestions. Loved the smaller ones, grilled and smothered in garlic butter. Big ones have been nasty so far, and the texture is like chewing on a tire.
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FWIW, there doesn't appear to be any shortage of sharks where we fish either. We've lost several fish (rod fishing) to sharks, see tons of them, and have shot rays with their tails missing due to sharks.
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I don't know much about stingrays, but that sure looks like my old Carolina Skiff.
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Nice shooting!
Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk
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LBR, I think we agree that right now rays are plentiful and shooting them is a great way to enjoy a day on the water.
I understand where you are coming from, I grew up in the country on a farm also. I understand about the need for man to intervene sometimes to bring a balance back. I am also a fisherman and understand the "nuisance". Our area (Chesapeake Bay) is also very dependent on oysters, clams, and crabs. I understand they are a nuisance to the commercial guy trying to make a buck, and I am there to help him thin the herd to proper levels. It's fun!
I also know that the public can ruin all that. I live in a state that is run by progressives. Image does make a difference here, so I appreciate your efforts to dispose of the carcasses in a way way that is out of the public eye. Good on you. Here in Maryland there is a real push to end ray bowfishing altogether simply because they see lots of blood and waste. The folks at our state house have already banned bowfishing for sharks and snapping turtles (they think we are too dumb to know the difference between a snapper and a terrapin), and now I do not have those opportunities that were enjoyed by my predecessors.
Being "slob hunter" by dumping ray carcasses un-thoughtfully, so they wash up on the beach, or dumping them in full sight of the public because it is "legal" is a sure way to ruin it for everyone. Much like strapping a deer and leaving it on the side of the road. We are fighting here in MD to keep the right to hunt them. The result would be your commercial fisherman has a ray problem, AND no one can do anything about it because it is illegal. No one wants that!
Here is something no longer available to the bowfisherman here:
(http://i.imgur.com/4TSV5AP.jpg?1) (https://imgur.com/4TSV5AP)
I am also a Environmental Biologist by education, and I have looked into current research on sharks and rays. Sharks are overall on the decline, though there have been some eastern populations making a rebound. The ray population is cyclic and dependent on of the success of their main predator and this is why there are many of them now to be had.
I disagree that they are not very good to eat. I'll end with some recipes others and I have found delightful. Lots of folks I know think venison is also inedible and will not eat them...think they are like an old tire. :biglaugh:
My own thoughts are that there is a huge difference between a 60-100 pound apex predator like the ray with a lifespan of 13 or so years, and that of fire ants and cockroaches. I personally am as ok with shooting 50 or so of these creatures in a day and dumping them to rot, as I am with shooting 50 bucks, cutting off the antlers, and leaving them in the back 40 to rot. I understand one is legal and the other is not, but to me shooting a few is plenty enough to have my fun and get a few pounds of meat. If you feel otherwise that is your prerogative, just continue to do it in a way that preserves the ability of others and my kids to enjoy the same opportunities in the future.
To me a little effort to utilize them is worth it. Plus, I think they taste pretty good. Everyone I have had taste these last few at work, want more. I just gave a frozen fillet to a coworker this morning.
Cooking and Preparation:
First remove the skin of the "wings" before the underlying fillets are removed because of the difficulty in removing the skin. Make sure ALL cartilage and the white membrane that separates the muscle from the internal organs is removed, otherwise the fillets will have an ammonia odor and taste. I find it advisable to soak the fillets in several changes of brine water to get as much blood out of the meat for aesthetics, does not impact the taste though... Rinse in cold water and prepare.
Cut into 2 inch strips and marinade overnight in equal parts of oil, concentrated frozen lemonade mix, and light soy sauce. Barbecue over coals is the favorite cooking, but oven broiling for 15 minutes per side is a close second method.
Supposedly other commercial marinades also work well.
Cutting rays into 1 inch chunks and dipped into a milk/eggs mixture and coated in Italian breadcrumbs before deep frying is also popular. Ray also works well once parboiled to an opaque consistency and added to casserole or crab cake recipes.
My hunting partner Brent just had great success with his big Southern by soaking it in buttermilk overnight and grilling it with garlic butter. Said it was delicious.
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Congrats on the success!! I missed out on bowfishing for rays when I used to live on the eastern shore. I would occasionally see schools of 20 or more while fishing and crabbing! I fully support utilizing any resource we harvest as much as possible. Great job!
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Thanks for the recipes--I'll try them. I was told by friends that live in FL the big ones just aren't good, due to the texture and taste, but I tried (several times) anyway. Smaller ones are great on the grill.
I'm very fortunate to live in MS, where people for the most part understand that animals are not people.
My own thoughts are that there is a huge difference between a 60-100 pound apex predator like the ray with a lifespan of 13 or so years, and that of fire ants and cockroaches.
Ok, how about rats? Beavers? Deer? Hogs? Because to the people who's living depends on their crops (I'm in farm country), those are just big roaches when they are destroying thousands of dollars worth of crops. It's stupid IMO, but there's a law here where you can shoot deer out of season if they are damaging your crop, but you aren't allowed to touch them and nobody comes out to get them. Hogs can destroy a good sized field over night, but a big boar hog is just plain nasty. They stink, and the meat tastes like it smells. My dad raised hogs for years, and no slaughter house would consider taking a boar...they don't even make good sausage. Can't blame a farmer, or any land owner for that matter, for shooting them. Point being, perspectives are different. Farmers don't think twice about shooting deer or hogs in their fields, and they can't just drop everything to butcher it even if it were practical or legal. There's been state bounties on beaver tails, and I've heard of people trying to eat them. I'll pass. Groundhog is supposed to be edible. If I see one in my pasture, it's toast, since I have a mule and my brother has cattle and we don't want either one to get a broken leg, but they don't look or smell all that appetizing to me. Perspective.
I'm not going to come up to MD and call someone a slob or chastise them because they don't do things like we do back home.
Again, I appreciate the recipes and will try again, even though I've yet to find any of the locals that will eat them. The mother of the guide I go with had a seafood restaurant and he's got a recipe that makes mullet delicious...but nothing for rays. I'm thinking it's a difference in the water temps, or maybe the type of ray? I'll give it another whirl...but either way I'm not giving up bow fishing for them.
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I never asked you to give up shooting them.
If you strap a deer and leave it by the side of the road, or leave bloody ray carcasses up on a public dock.... I'll call that a slob all day long.