What is a good way to catch rays from a pier for shark bait later in the evening ?
Use a big weighted trebel hook and snag as they pass by or cast to them and snag them... u can use a big trebel hook and put a. A weight on it before u tie the trebel hook on and use a sleve to keep the weight from sliding up and down..first sleeve ,weight then trebel hook.
Thanks i am buying my first 12/0 ,and hoping to get me a ray my first day at the pier and soak the whole thing later that night. I am from Kentucky and dont get to shark fish alot so im kind of a newby hopeing to get a good run.
Goodluck...
Are you on the East or West Coast. If on the West Coast there's an bundance of Cownose Rays at many piers / bridges or beaches. You can either snag them from the bridges or piers ( easier ) or snag them from the beach ( harder ). Use what ever you are comfortable with. I snag all my rays with a gotcha lure and have had great success at it. But that's just me. Others use trebble hooks, bucktails etc. Whatever you are comfortable with go with it. Let me know what coast you are on. Hope this helps a bit. Whatever happens don't give up!!!!! Keep at it and you will be rewarded!!!!!! Good Luck!!!!!
I am going to be fishing the Gulf at Dan Russell pier. I have seen some good sharks caught by the locals but they always use bonito. So with all the advise I have recieved on here about rays. I plan on using that and shocking the locals. It has been hard in the past to be able to get in with them and fish because I have had a Penn 330gt. Now i am purchasing a 12/0 and have some tips from off here I am hopeing to have them yakk my bait for me and now that i have the proper equipment mabey get me a good shark and I will probly be the only one with ray.
Can't go wrong with either of those baits. Hopefully some of the locals will be cool enough to show you a few things. Good luck man!!!!
Thanks for all the help. I'll post my progress every day
I'll second the "Gotcha Plug" awesome for snagging rays and when you're waiting on a school to pass by just keep casting it and retrieving it. Jacks, macks, ladyfish and Bonito will chew that thing up if they come across it. All good baits right there. If you're not seeing schools of cownose rays or you just cant seem to get one, walk to the beginning of the pier and look in the shallows for a mudray to snag. They're pretty camo but once you spot one you'll start seeing more. And keep an eye out around you for tourists slinging squid and frozen shrimp, they always seem to catch a bunch of mudrays and almost never want to touch them, offer to help unhook it and ask them if they want it for anything. They almost never do 
. After you help em once they'll keep calling you if they get another 
. Ive just shown up at the Redington Pier with my fly gaff, a 5gallon, and a pair of needlenose pliers and just helped people unhook rays and big sailcats for a few hours and left with plenty of bait for that night!
Never really thought of that even though when i was younger i had the locals do it to me. When i would catch whiting or sheeps head they would be on me quick fishing for kings and shark.
cow nose rays are at alot of piers on the west coast. just well your walking down the pier ask people fishing "hey have you seen any ray schools or caught any." or "if you catch a sting ray can i have it just call for me and ill come unhook it." offer them a drink or some thing if they get u a ray.
cow nose rays i use a weighted treble hook and a few other trebles on top of the tied together using 80lb mono. if i dont have a weighted treble hook i will use a 1 - 3 oz lead depending on the rod tied to 80lb mono then 3 treble hooks on top of that tied on with a over hand knot. i prefer the lead on bottom instead of the weighted treble hook. because some times i have had the lead get cut off some how.
cow nose rays are at alot of piers on the west coast. just well your walking down the pier ask people fishing "hey have you seen any ray schools or caught any." or "if you catch a sting ray can i have it just call for me and ill come unhook it." offer them a drink or some thing if they get u a ray.
cow nose rays i use a weighted treble hook and a few other trebles on top of the tied together using 80lb mono. if i dont have a weighted treble hook i will use a 1 - 3 oz lead depending on the rod tied to 80lb mono then 3 treble hooks on top of that tied on with a over hand knot. i prefer the lead on bottom instead of the weighted treble hook. because some times i have had the lead get cut off some how.
yea with a snag rig the best way is to have the weight on the bottom of the leader so the treble drags over the wing of the ray. what i do is cut a section of braid tie a weight on one side make a loop knot on the other and run the loop through the eye of the treble hook and back onto itself
Do you guys think the bubble rig i use for spanish and bonito will work to keep the hook on top of the water and snag that way ? Or does the weight help to set the hook in their wings
I'll second the "Gotcha Plug" awesome for snagging rays and when you're waiting on a school to pass by just keep casting it and retrieving it. Jacks, macks, ladyfish and Bonito will chew that thing up if they come across it. All good baits right there. If you're not seeing schools of cownose rays or you just cant seem to get one, walk to the beginning of the pier and look in the shallows for a mudray to snag. They're pretty camo but once you spot one you'll start seeing more. And keep an eye out around you for tourists slinging squid and frozen shrimp, they always seem to catch a bunch of mudrays and almost never want to touch them, offer to help unhook it and ask them if they want it for anything. They almost never do
They will hit shrimp & little pieces of bait ,you can catch one right after another at times ,
They are a pain sometimes if you are liveling shrimp for snook we used to get alot when we fished around docks,pilings,etc, with live shrimpsoon as it hit bottom the rays grab it,
But SR's right take a bucket & go ,you'll have all you need,
Do you guys think the bubble rig i use for spanish and bonito will work to keep the hook on top of the water and snag that way ? Or does the weight help to set the hook in their wings
you could use this but i sight snag them. some times they are deeper then they appear to. so i cast ahead of them or over the side let it sink and reel it into them u can feel them bump it and just rip it back like ur setting hook and it will stick a few hooks in them