[615953]

Hey guys,

Had a great time tonight even though the winds were killing me at times.

Anyway, I was fishing on Wading River beach, about 1 mile east of the Town of Riverhead Wading River beach(just got my ********'s 4WD fixed so had to head out to the beach). I was soaking bunker chunks that were pretty big, wanted something big and something to keep the **** sea robbins that have plaqued the area away. I was getting the bunker out at I'd say around 150'. I HAD 30lb monofilament, with 3' of 60lb test leader, with a 7/0 octopus.

I was getting nothing for an hour, and then my rod got a little hit, then another, then it just bent and the drag went crazy(I had it set at 15lbs).

No matter how hard I tried, I could not gain any ground on whatever was on the line. I set the drag about 1 turn tighter which I figure should be around 20-25lb, but the reel kept letting line out and my pole was bending tremendously. Anyway, 220 yards later my line was gone, and I cut it away.

I have a Penn 9500SS and a Penn Power Stick(11'). It took the fish about 25 minutes to run my line out and it wasn't doing anything to stop.

I didn't know there were fish in the sound that can do that, and it didn't feel like a striper or a blue.

I thought I'd be pissed off since it did run my line out, but it was fun in a way, just frustrating that I couldn't have seen what it was.

I'll live for another day, so will it, but not if I can get it again!

What the **** could it be?

 

[Jaiem]

Sounds like either a shark or ocean skate.

Or a 125# bass.

Jaiem
ArtsNFlies.com

 

[615953]

Thanks for the reply Jaiem, the owner of the bait and tackle shop I go to said it could have been a huge skate, but I like the idea that there could SOMEWHERE be an existant 125# striper out there.... Only in our dreams!

 

[spygull]

You probably hooked a large stingray i've had them under my boat up to 4 feet across this season while fishing the flats.

 

[614097]

According to NMFS, the largest striped bass on record was a 125-pound specimen, caught in 1891.

Maybe you met her great-great-great-granddaughter.

Stephen Byrne
NY Bight Editor
Nor'east Saltwater

 

[615329]

Sounds like a stingray to me. I had a similar experience off the jetty at Indian River Inlet (near Rehoboth Beach Delaware). 20 minutes of running and reeling and then a bird's nest on my conventional reel. Finally the beast showed himself at the surface. Had to be 4 feet across. Thank God he broke the line, I had no idea how I was going to release him. Though it was fun imagining I had the world record striper on my line.

AtomAnt

 

[613687]

Well just wanted to let you know This week i arrived at one of the beaches I frequent to surf cast and I arrived 10 minutes late. A couple of
fisherman I know filled me in on what they witnessed. one of them is my fishing buddy and this is no Bull,... He said " qoute " he was by the rocks and saw a shark that came close to shore
that measured 8 to 10 feet then swam away. what caught his attention and the other fisherman was the 8 inch fin sticking out of the water!!!
Nobody was to clear about what type of shark they saw, but it was a shark!
This was in the riverhead area this past week.


IBEW local 1049

 

[615953]

IBEW,

The 3 bait and tackle stores I went to today all said LARGE stingray or enormous striper(but they all said I wish after the striper..LOL). Did he know what type of shark it was? That sounds pretty large to be in the sound.

Tight lines

Joe

 

[surfeditor]

I think it was almost certainly a stingray. I live about a mile from there and have seen quite a few monster ones while snorkeling in 5 to 10 feet of water. They look bigger than me without the tail. The shark story is interesting. I've never seen one in the sound but have heard of them being spotted by boat anglers. The 8-inch fin sticking out of the water could have been that of an ocean sunfish. They're around, and although they are filter feeders, one could have run into your line, though that seems much less likely than a stingray (or are they giant skates?). I doubt there's a striper alive that could dump 220 yards of 30-pound line on the outfit you describe assuming a firm drag. Even in that unlikely event, it would probably happen in much less than 25 minutes, an amount of time that also points to a slower moving creature like a ray. Neat stories.

 

[garyt]

I'm also willing to bet it was sun fish. Took the boat out of mattituck inlet last weekend and saw 2 of them not too far off the beach.

 

[615953]

Well...

There are 2 types of skates that inhabit the sound, one is the Thorny Skate (Grows to 39"), I've caught many of them in the sound this year. The other skate is the Barndoor Skate, can grow up to 56". If it were on the south shore and the summer, there have been known reports of manta rays, which can grow up to 10ft from wing tip to wing tip. Well, if anyone catches some sort of marine animal with 220+ yards of line, please let me know what it was!

~Joe

 

[614851]

rat-tailed halibut

set,
opinari

 

[SOLTA]

ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO I LOST A CUSTOM 11' ROD AND MY FAVORITE OLD MITCHELL COFFEE GRINDER TO WHAT MUST HAVE BEEN A SHARK. I WAS FISHING BUNKER AT LANDS END ROAD IN ORIENT. I WAS TENDING TO ANOTHER ROD ABOUT A HUNDRED FEET AWAY WHEN THE BIG STICK DOUBLED OVER AND THE DRAG STARTED TO SCREAM. I SET THE OTHER POLE IN THE SPIKE AND LOOSENED THE DRAG AND STARTED RUNNING TO THE BIG ROD. I COULD HEAR THE DRAG START TO LOCK UP, JUST AS I WAS ABOUT TO GET MY HANDS ON THE ROD IT SHOT UP AND FLEW OUT OF THE HOLDER. I WAS STUNNED TO SEE MY GEAR FLY INTO THE SOUND BUT MORE SO WHEN I SAW A SPLASH AND SWIRL THE SIZE OF A VOLKSWAGON OUT NEAR WHERE MY BAIT HAD BEEN. THIS WAS IN LATE AUGUST. I AM SURE IT WAS A SHARK, BUT THE MOST FUNNY THING ABOUT IT WAS THAT WHEN THE ROD FLEW INTO THE WATER MY GIRLFRIEND SAID "IS THAT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN"

THANKS ALOT