ray – GO Angling

A Great White day

Posted on 22nd January 2017 by Gethyn Owen

Big blonde rays have become something of a rarity for us in recent years. We didn’t see one last year, and only a handful to 14lb in 2015. So an away day was in order. Having seen the quality of the early season ray fishing on the South Coast, myself and a few mates decided on a trip out with Sean Heath aboard his impressive catamaran Great White 2. Couple weeks earlier, the guys were cleaning up with blondes to 28lb and also an astounding quantity of school bass over the banks. Our day started off with a gorgeous sunrise […]

Springtime Rays

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

Around the world there are over 500 species of rays. Related to the shark family these cartilaginous fish are of extreme value to the recreational angler, from both boat and shore. Sadly though, the numbers of rays being landed either commercially or during recreational angling has dwindled vastly over the last couple decades. According to the Shark Trust there have been 15 species of ray recorded in UK waters, of these only 5 of them are relatively common around the north Wales coast. These are the blonde ray, cuckoo ray, spotted ray, small eyed ray and thornback ray; I have […]

Holyhead General Fishing – Part 2

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

General Fishing can be used to describe various types of fishing, for many it is when that planned day goes slightly pear shaped and your intended targets don’t play ball. It also describes in fairness much of the fishing to be had off Anglesey and especially from Holyhead. Yes we have our smoothhounds, tope, and spurdogs to name a few, but we’re not blessed with some of the fishing that you read about regular on the south coast I’m talking about the big plaice, turbot and bream etc. Sadly you cannot charter from Holyhead with those particular fish as specific […]

Holyhead General Fishing – Part 1

Posted on 13th October 2016 by David

The vast majority of experienced anglers have a specific target in mind when they book a day out boat fishing. Sadly though, we have a number of external influences on our sport such as particular time of year, large tidal range and worst of all the good old British weather. Despite all our best plans, we can’t always target the species we enjoy catching the most. Never the less, most anglers are willing to take the rough with the smooth and assuming here that a day afloat can still be had will quickly adjust their armoury with a selection […]

Ray of Sunshine

Posted on 12th October 2016 by David

Ray Fishing Around the world there are over 500 species of rays. Related to the shark family these cartilaginous fish are of extreme value to the recreational angler, from both boat and shore. Sadly though, the numbers of rays being landed either commercially or for sport has dwindled vastly over recent years. It is a fact that the common skate one time abundant in most UK waters is now listed as an endangered species. According to the Shark Trust there have been 15 species of ray recorded in UK waters, of these only 5 of them are relatively common around […]

Ray Thornback

Posted on 4th June 2016 by Gethyn Owen

The Thornback ray is another short snouted ray with sharp disc wing tips forming approximately right angles. The ray takes it’s name from the numerous large spines over it’s back and often also on its underside. The spines run down the length of the tail, thus they should be handled with extra care. The Thornback is generally a very dark brown colour with a small covering of large cream coloured blotches. The underside of this ray is again white. The Thornback can be found on all manner of sea beds from hard rock covered ground to soft sand and mud. […]

Ray Blonde

Posted on 4th April 2016 by Gethyn Owen

Blonde rays are light brown in colour. They are covered in small dark spots that extend all the way to the edge of the body. Often has larger lighter spots/rings on the wings. The blonde has a small snout, with rounded wing tips. The adults are covered in small spines, however the juvenile ray tends to be a lot smoother. Starting at the middle of its back., the ray has spines that run down its tail. They can be found in depths up to 100m. Blonde rays are located over a variety of grounds from sand to rock. Often the […]

Ray Spotted

Posted on 4th November 2015 by Gethyn Owen

Spotted rays have are light brown in colour. They are covered in small dark spots, that run within 3cm of the ing edges. They are sometimes confused with Blonde rays who have spots all the way to the wing edges. Often the spotted ray has a large pale spot on each wing, that has one small dark spot within and surrounded by larger dark spots.Small closely packed spines run down it;s back to the tail. Spotted rays can be found over roughish ground in depths up to 140m. Many are taken around the Holyhead bay area especially when fishing on […]

April 2015

Posted on 30th April 2015 by Gethyn Owen

Up until today (18th) the month of April has been a relatively successful period aboard My Way. The weather has allowed us to sail on 9 occasions and only cancelled 5, ok, so 64% is not the kindest of percentages, but for early season April in the bay, I’ll take it. The first weekend of the month saw us staying inshore on a 6 hour trip for a group of novices aboard My Way. Fortunately we were able to put them amongst the fish with a few different species scattered around various marks within Holyhead Bay. What’s interesting about the […]