skates

[susqeyaker]

wondering if there is anyone that knows if the skates that invaded one of my favorite rivers is just temporary or what? last summer the tred avon in talbot county was incredible with perch up to 13 inch, stripers and trout. went a couple weeks ago and got two skate and nothing else. seen lots of skate they was mudding up the water. will they leave later?

[john from md]

The salt content of the water is probably higher than last year due to the lack of spring run off. That plus the water temp going up will probably keep them there as long as there is a food supply.

Buy a bow and enjoy.

John

[RavensDfense]

They should begin to disappear around mid-July. I grew up fishing the tred avon and wye rivers with my father. We start going when the tributaries open up for 2 fish at 18" (which is today, I believe). They are thick around this time, but lessen in numbers as the summer wears on. They're hell on the commerical crabbers too. They'll crush a clam bag as flat as a pancake.

+1 on buying a bow.

[MDFishin]

I seen and heard a lot about em on the Choptank, I coulda blasted like 10 the other night, I might bring my bow up here. As for when they leave, the salinity is around 10 ppt right now, they will stay around until it drops significantly lower (around 5 ppt i think). In dry hot years the rivers and bays get more salty as the summer goes on due to evaporation, and no rain. There has been an increase in the skate population due to the decreasing shark population, especially Bulls. The skates destroy entire oyster beds, and compete with stripers for food. I usually dont say this, but KILL THEM, KILL A LOT OF EM.

[john from md]

Ahh, I would rather see a ray than a Bull Shark while I am paddling my little yak four inches off the water.

I have seen Bull sharks at the BB in past years. I sympathize with the loss of the shark population however, I stop at the thought of becoming breakfast for one.

I wonder how ray wings do as crab bait?

John

[surfdog]

talk about an invasive spieces, all they do is distroy oyster beds and tear up grasses to find crabs and eat them. they make good crab bait and cat food im sure some one can find a productive use for them

[frettr00]

Not sure about skates, but Cownose rays are edible... They put up a mighty fight too.

[tufnik]

Not sure about skates, but Cownose rays are edible... They put up a mighty fight too.

CN rays are pesky too. I'm going to try it the next time I catch a cownose. (no bow, just rod/reel)

http://hamptonroads.com/2010/07/woul...ginia-hopes-so

[kuljc]

Don't waste them! Eat them! seriously. I decided to give it a try and literally just ate some I caught on Monday. They're really easy to filet with scissors and taste great. The meat falls off the skin after you cook it. I followed this YouTube to see how to filet, but used scissors instead. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3f3VLW5Hlk"]How to Clean Skates or Rays... Things Joe Likes - YouTube[/ame]

I'm definitely going to start keeping them from on.

[kevinfry]

. they make good crab bait and cat food im sure some one can find a productive use for them

Yes they are nice and grisly so you can use it on a trotline, especially if you salt it.

[john from md]

Rays vs Skates

Just so some folks don't get confused, people in Maryland use the terms Skates and Rays interchangeably. This is not a good practice but there it is.

There are many differences between the two but I will only go into a couple. Skates are smaller and do not have the dangerous barb that the Ray does. Skates wings are similar to the side meat in Sharks and can be passed off as Scallops at less than honest restaurants ( trust me, I was a cook in a seafood restaurant).

Rays are larger, have darker meat and a barb in their tale that will give you some serious pain if it gets in you. (don't ask) If you ever get one of these in you, DON'T pull it out if you can help it. It has barbs like fish hooks only there are hundreds of them. Cut the tail off and head for the hospital as fast as you can.

When surf fishing, we would through a board on the tail to control it while we got the hook out. On boats, I always cut the line at the boat if I get a Ray that far. I personally do not ever plan to try to bring a Chesapeake Ray into a kayak.

In my diving days, I learned that these fish will not bother you if you don't bother them. Trying to boat one is another story for another day.

Stay safe,


John

[tufnik]

So which is better tasting? Skate or ray?

So, skates are safer than rays, right? Do some skates have spines that can harm us?

Also, although they are invasive to our area, I read that skates/rays are overfished worldwide. In fact, there are efforts to protect them.

[kuljc]

my friend ate a ray... said it was really tough. the skate I ate was really tender. and I've also heard they make fake scallops with skate wings.

Skates don't have a barb, but their tails are solid and are spiny. their wings have little spikes on them too, so you can get pricked. but I've never heard of anyone getting stabbed by a skate.

[john from md]

Skates have the same skin as a shark so, if you scrape against it hard enough, it can make you bleed. The spines are no big deal, in fact, the ideal way of picking them up is by the tail. I have done so without a glove but you really should wear a glove when picking them up.

Rays have a darker, tougher meat and of course, you don't pick them up by the tail.

I have never caught a skate in the Chesapeake. I have only caught them in the ocean and the bays close to the ocean. The cow nose rays come to the Chesapeake to breed and then leave. It just seems that we have more and more of them every year.

A friend who dives the bay quite a bit, says he was shocked when they wrap themselves around around him the first couple of times. Since the visibility in the bay is never that great, they probably think he is another Ray.


Regards,

[MDFishin]

Clear Nose Skate, commonly caught off the beaches in OC and AI


Cownose Ray Commonly caught in the Chesapeake


In the Chesapeake Rays are often referred to as Skate, I grew up calling them skate. After doing a little research I learned that Rays migrate seasonly and should head southward towards the fall. I have seen them in flocks of several hundred around Sharps island in August so theyre pretty much here all summer