Chesapeake Bay Cownose Rays & Gar

[Syoung]

I would like to know if anyone is still seeing cownose rays while crabbing. I am looking for some to bowfish for. I am also always looking for some nice size longnose gar to shoot and fry the backstraps from as well. The wings on the rays are also good eating as well.

[Islander]

I've seen a lot of cownose rays, the Bay has been full of them this year!

It shouldn't be hard to find some. Please take as many as you want,
their a real pain when you're crabbing. 

[Felinis]

Are there cow-nosed rays and skates in the Bay, or the two terms used interchangably?

[CrabbyLAD]

I've seen some rays in the Cox Creek area..... The don't look that big..
How big do they get?

[Islander]

Are there cow-nosed rays and skates in the Bay, or the two terms used interchangably?

Yeah Felinis, Skates and cownose rays are one in the same. 

[jack1747]

This is a cownose ray http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/cownoseray/cownoseray.html

This is a skate http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/ClearnoseSkate/ClearnoseSkate.html

[Islander]

This is a cownose ray http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/cownoseray/cownoseray.html

This is a skate http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/ClearnoseSkate/ClearnoseSkate.html

Great links Jack. I guess technically we have the cownose rays, but everyone around here calls them skate. 

[CrabDog]

I have seen cow nose rays off kent island and all the way up Wye river past where the east wye meets the wye if you went out under the wooden bridge... only saw them in the main wye though which is unusual to see them far up the river.  jellys are everywhere...
no gar fish though...

Jack thanks  skates and cow nose rays are different critters, but same family.....

..........CDog

[Islander]

I have seen cow nose rays off kent island and all the way up Wye river past where the east wye meets the wye if you went out under the wooden bridge... only saw them in the main wye though which is unusual to see them far up the river. jellys are everywhere...
no gar fish though...

Jack thanks skates and cow nose rays are different critters, but same family.....

..........CDog

This year I've seen them on the East side of the Wye all the way up to Pickering Creek!
I hate those things!    They like running into the trotline!! 

[Seaweed]

I went to Calvert Marine Museum down in Solomon's a few months ago with the girlfriend, and they now have a ray/skate exhibit and a lady telling the story of both.  They are different, and the rays look like all the pictures you see, and skates have a more fuzzy and/or frilly look.. they have more "trim" and don't look as sleek as the cownose rays.  She threw a bunch of crushed up razor clams and fish in the pool, and those things went crazy on it.

Islander is right though... a lot of people call them the same thing.

One cool thing I learned from the lady there:  the stinger is at the base of their [arse], where their tail meets their body, not at the end of the tail like a lot of people think.  Its like an arrow with a bunch of ribs that only go in, and won't come out. Thats why you usually get an infection if you get stung, because its hard to get the stinger out.

Thats my story.

[daisycupy]

Those were very kool links jack .... thanks........ 
SW that was also an interesting tidbit. ......... they are kool creatures, I think they are quite beautiful, graceful, we saw several bunches of them doing that mating/wings up outta the water thing on a trip down to Cambridge in June, when we first saw the fin tip from far away I thought " HOLY CHIT!!!!! SHARKKKSSSS!!!!!" My husband just laughed.... he said "no worry just ray's"............... sorry they foul up your trot line Islander......... guess that would suck but they must see it as a yummy buffet line, I guess you can't blame em...... your serving fresh crab ........yummm....

[Syoung]

  The cownose rays will get to about 60lbs, where a giant skate will run about 10lbs. The skate also lack the barb on the tail that gives a stingray their name. The rays are great eating and a blast to hunt with a bow.
  The last southern stingray we shot weighed 103lbs, and had 15 undigested crabs in her. Thanks for the info I hope to shoot some while the trot line is soaking.

[Syoung]

I'll be down there this Tuesday. If anyone happens to see a buch in a certain area I would appreciate it if you PM'd me and let me know where they were. I'll share some wing meat with you if you're down there.

[CrabDog]

  The cownose rays will get to about 60lbs, where a giant skate will run about 10lbs. The skate also lack the barb on the tail that gives a stingray their name. The rays are great eating and a blast to hunt with a bow.
  The last southern stingray we shot weighed 103lbs, and had 15 undigested crabs in her. Thanks for the info I hope to shoot some while the trot line is soaking.

heck if it had over a dozen crabs in em...shoot a way my friend.. I will be on cow nose ray patrol Sat.  morning witht he rest of the gang.. If See a large pod will make note and update you monday

..........CDOG  ( god I go from yank patrol to ray patrol   ...     )

[Islander]

The cownose rays will get to about 60lbs, where a giant skate will run about 10lbs. The skate also lack the barb on the tail that gives a stingray their name. The rays are great eating and a blast to hunt with a bow.
 The last southern stingray we shot weighed 103lbs, and had 15 undigested crabs in her. Thanks for the info I hope to shoot some while the trot line is soaking.

Good Luck Syoung, Shoot as many of those rays as you can!!!! 

[SteamedMDBlueCrabs]

Are there cow-nosed rays and skates in the Bay, or the two terms used interchangably?

Most people in the Chesapeake bay area call Cow nosed Rays a skate. Even though a skate is a smaller member of the ray family.

[tattoo]

GO get them.

[Syoung]

Tried last Tuesday, but it was so windy could have never seen one. The skate is not only alot smaller, but lacks the barb on the tail that gives the stingray his name. Never ate a skate, but rays are awesome.

[SteamedMDBlueCrabs]

Never ate a skate, but rays are awesome.

They are alot like cheap scallops that you might get out. This is because alot of places that sell scallops are really selling meat off stingrays or sharks.

[Syoung]

  I filet the meat from the center cartilage, then skin the meat from the skin. It comes off in a big pile of loose meat, much like ground meat. As a matter of fact it makes a good low fat/ high protien meat for use in dirty rice dishes.
  The most fun is when you hit one with an arrow. There is nothing including huge alligator gar that can pull like that. A 100lb ray will destroy about anything you use on her.

[Syoung]

Not sure how many of you have seen stingray barbs up close?

[Islander]

Ouch!! I wouldn't want to get to close to those barbs!! 

[SHELLFISH]

First I've seen, thanks for the pics!