It’s Blonde Ray Fishing Time!

It’s that time of year when many anglers turn their attention to cod fishing, but on the south Wales coastline it’s another species that sees many anglers flocking to the water.

Ben Davies gives us his top tips when it comes to targeting the blonde ray. 

Every year around mid September blonde rays begin to move inshore on the south Wales coast.

The marks aren’t that important as they show at many venues over both low and high water. 

But tackling up and deciding on the right bait to use can make all the difference.

Tackle

Blonde rays can be strong fish and fight hard. Because of their sheer weight it’s important to step up your kit and have enough power to pull what could be a large ray from the sea bed. If you get lucky they will surface some way out in front of you, but sometimes they will hug the bottom and that’s when you need some strength in your set up to get them moving. 

A reasonably powerful rod and a reel (multiplier or fixed spool) loaded with 20lb mainline will cope, but remember a shock leader that will take the force of casting a 7oz lead. I personally use a Century Eliminator T-900, but any rod with a bit of poke is fine.

When it comes to rigs, the pulley is the most simple rig out there and combined with a dongle, it’s a deadly set up. If the ground in front of you is clean, a two hook dongle rig could be used. 

Being one hook, the pulley dongle rig is less likely to get snagged up compared to the Pennel rigs that we used to use. The circle hook has a brilliant hook up rate and is nearly always in the lip of the fish which is great for conservation. 

Bait

Oily fishy baits are the way to go and I’ll usually take bluey, anchovies, squid and sandeels on a session. Sometimes one of those baits can give you the edge or even a combination of two or three, but the important thing is to create an oily bait that can waft its scent out in the tide and attract the fish in. I take my bait to the mark in a cool box to keep it in good condition, but I’ll put sandeels in a wide food flask to keep them frozen throughout the session. 

Whip your baits on with plenty of elastic so they can be cast hard without fear of them coming off the rig.

General tips

Some marks will fish better in the dark than they will during the daylight, but if the water is coloured up it won’t make a lot of difference. As we move in to October, the fish will become more widespread and that’s when they could show from literally anywhere. Making sure your rigs and knots are strong is really important as a blonde over 20lb can put a massive strain on your gear and weak tackle will only let you down. Casting distance can definitely help on some marks when you might need to reach a particular feature, but generally 80-100yds will put you in the fish zone. 

By using the baits I’ve recommended, you could also catch small eyed and spotted rays which are often on the same marks. Conger, cod and bass are also possibilities here and it’s a great time of year for lots of different species of fish. 

A weigh sling is a good thing to have as it saves hanging a fish from the scales by its lip and if the fish is looked after properly it will go back without issues. 

No one really takes blonde rays anymore, they are a brilliant sport fish and should be looked after in my opinion.