2023 turned into the year of super specimen rays for Vince Knight with three personal bests and two fish of a lifetime which even he thinks he’ll be unlikely to beat. He explains how it was done and shares his secrets for bagging big rays this year
It turned out that 2023 was a year of outstanding ray fishing for me along different venues along the South Coast. It began in June when I caught my personal best small eyed ray at Seaton in Dorset. At 14lb 3oz it was an incredible specimen for the species. The small eyed rays were quite prolific at the time and it was hard to pick out the better ones. The fish was caught using a micro pouting caught from the same venue.
It was late summer in August when fishing at night from Aldwick Beach near Bognor Regis in West Sussex that I caught my next specimen ray and another fish of a lifetime. Targeting undulates amongst the many other summer species that were present proved to be challenging but rewarding when I achieved such a fine specimen. There were plenty of pout around that evening and it’s no coincidence the ray fell to a freshly caught four-inch pout caught only minutes before. Using bait that the fish were feeding on naturally made a massive difference on both occasions.
Then in November, fishing from Beesands in south Devon, a third species of specimen ray fell to my rod, this time an incredible 7lb 4oz spotted ray. Although the wrong time of year I was targeting spotted ray with the hope rather than the expectation of catching one. With very few of the species caught on the South Coast, catching any spotted rays is, in my opinion, an achievement, let alone a fish over 7lb! Out of the three fish it’s difficult to choose which one I was most pleased with. The small eyed and spotted rays were absolute fish of a lifetime but it’s going to take a lot to beat the 7lb 4oz spotted ray, if I ever do.
Between these fish I also had countless specimen thornbacks and even a beautiful blonde ray from Chesil which, while no record breaker, I was pleased to catch as it came from Abbotsbury which anyone who knows Chesil will tell you is not a mark known for its rays.
