Information On The Beautiful Blue Sting Ray Dasyatis Pastinaca (Blue Skate, Blue Ray)

South Africa's Common Flatfish... The Blue Stingray

The Blue Stingray is arguably the most caught South African species of Skate or Ray from the shore, especially in the eastern and western parts of South Africa. The Blue Sting Ray is also known as the Blue Skate or just the Blue Ray. It is a hard fighting flatfish and is joy to catch on heavy or light tackle. The Blue Stingray is easily identifiable with it's electric blue markings on its brownish oval-shaped body. It might be confused the Blue Spotted Ribbontail, however this species of skate is a lot smaller and has a very long tail, so there should be no real confusion in misidentifying this amazing species of South African fish.

The Blue Stingray should always be handled with care when out of the water, or even in it. This species of ray has a very poisonous (And potentially fatal) spine on it's tail, and you would really not want to be in a position where it is able to 'tail whip' you. However gaffing of this species is really not needed and I strongly don't recommend gaffing as there is no need to. The Blue Ray can be handled quite easily when out of the water.

The Blue Ray is a common coastal species of South African flat fish that occurs all along the coastline and favours sandy beaches and river mouths/estuaries. The Blue Sting Ray's diet is made up mainly of crabs, sea lice, marine worms, slow moving fish species and other invertebrates of the sea. They have very strong teeth and they are able to crush hard shelled food items. The Blue Ray breeds all year round and gives live birth to anything between 1 and 6 young. The Blue Skate is more active at night and therefore is more commonly caught at night. These Rays are often caught on big baits intended for Grey Sharks, Bronze Whalers or Ragged Tooth Sharks. The Blue Sting Ray occurs in water of up to about 70 meters deep.

How To Catch The South African Blue Sting Ray

The South African angling record for this species is constantly changing but it currently stands at close to 40 kilograms, which is huge! The Blue Sting Ray should be fished for at night (If you want to catch big ones), with no less than 25 pound line and 12 foot rod... You need all the help you can get trying to land this fish! Look for the Blue Skate along sandy beaches, especially if there are big drop offs or sand banks around and in early December and July-October around deep river mouths. The Blue Sting Ray is a strong fighter and will often sit in the sand and make you pull him out! Sardine or Mackerel is definitely the way to go when putting out a bait for this fish. Although Chokka/Squid, Bonito and Octopus also prove to be good baits to target the Blue Ray. Make sure you have a bit of floatation on your hook to help the fish find your bait as quickly as possible. Good luck and enjoy catching this fish; the Blue Ray, its an amazing experience!

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