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[bignose]

I also use 10 pound test braid-sufix neon, that one of those tackle testing sites actually measured at an 18 pound breaking strength.
I don't recall what the 20 pound would break at.
I use a 15 pound test leader, and when forced to break off, either the leader, or very occasionally, the knot breaks before the main line.

You're darn right about pointing the rod at the Ray to break off. I had two of them try to do the "manhole cover on the bottom" act near Fort McHenry several years ago (tin boat days) and in lifting them up had two rods explode. We've had them break Ugly Sticks on the Charter boat and that takes some doing!

I'd worry about trying to lift them broad side from a canoe or kayak.
That enormous carp I caught this past spring gave me all I could handle to get it along side, no way I was going to try to lift it over the side for a photo.

[willf650]

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We catch them regularly fishing for sharks in the DE bay. They deffinately bite as all the ones we catch are hooked in the mouth.

[john from md]

Yeah the only one I've hooked is while trolling paddletails out of Jonas green. Went past a marker buoy and WHAM drag starts screaming.....I was excited about the possibility of a red drum, cobia, big rockfish, etc., but realized after about 2 minutes of the fight, that it was probably a ray. Got it up to the boat about 5minutes later, and confirmed this, and I could see the lure stuck in its wing. However, after multiple attempts of trying to get it close enough to de-hook, I had to just cut the leader really close to the lure, since it just kept soaking me over and over, and wasn't tiring. I have a lot of respect for them, they're ridiculously strong. They get a bad rap because watermen and recreational guys like to scapegoat them for eating all the oysters, crabs, or whatever seems scarce, but it turns out, after numerous studies (as is usually the case), they're a very natural presence and humans are yet again the reason for the decline of the crabs, oysters, etc. It's a shame because you see a lot of jagoffs spearing them or just needlessly killing them, thinking they're making a difference or something. Same thing with skate, and like I said in a previous thread, the days of me just walking by and not asking questions to the fisherman with 10 dead skates in front of him are long gone, now I don't mind the confrontation. Can't stand just killing skates, dogfish, and rays, because a fisherman just keeps catching them! What a terrible problem, right?

Skates are much different than rays. Skate meat is nice and white and very tender when cooked correctly. I love skate meat.