Shelter Island Pier - What Kind of Ray?

Discussion in 'Surf, Piers, & Jetties' started by ReelFishing, Jan 25, 2021.

  1. ReelFishing

    ReelFishing Active Member

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    My son and I went to Shelter Island Pier on Sunday late afternoon (1/24). Pier was pretty empty and when it started raining, everyone left except us and one other fisherman huddled by the bait shop. While we were fishing (and not catching), we looked over and saw a small ray on the pier being hassled by a sea gull. At first we thought the ray had somehow been caught by the bird, but when we got closer, the other fisherman said he had caught it.

    I was pretty bothered that he just left the fish on the pier instead of tossing it back--he said it was a stingray, but we sure didn't think it was a stingray. We thought it was a non-threatening thornback ray, but it didn't seem to have 3 rows of spines on its tail. And the shape didn't look as elongated as a guitarfish, but maybe it lengthens as it gets older? My son really wants to know which species this is.

    P1240471 (2).JPG
     
    #1 ReelFishing, Jan 25, 2021
  2. ReelFishing

    ReelFishing Active Member

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    Forgot to mention that we tossed it back in the water and it swam off quickly.
     
    #2 ReelFishing, Jan 25, 2021
  3. Werfless

    Werfless The Coach ..RIP my friends
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    Thornback.. type of skate
     
    #3 Werfless, Jan 25, 2021
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  4. ReelFishing

    ReelFishing Active Member

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    Thanks, Werfless! We got thrown off because the thornback description we saw emphasized the 3 rows of spines and we only saw 1 row.
     
    #4 ReelFishing, Jan 26, 2021
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  5. BenC

    BenC
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    Uh oh, better take another look at it Coach.
     
    #5 BenC, Jan 26, 2021
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  6. Werfless

    Werfless The Coach ..RIP my friends
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    Is it a bgf? I went at first glance... Bgf are an awesome fish
     
    #6 Werfless, Jan 26, 2021
  7. Werfless

    Werfless The Coach ..RIP my friends
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    Good call.. I guess it's a banded guitarfish... See? See what I get for not really taking a look? Awesome catch there...
     
    #7 Werfless, Jan 26, 2021
  8. carpkiller

    carpkiller
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    That's okay...the fish self-identifies as a gender-fluid thornback ray.
     
    #8 carpkiller, Jan 26, 2021
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  9. FishBait

    FishBait Well-Known Member

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    It’s 2021 that Ray can be called whatever it wants.
     
    #9 FishBait, Jan 26, 2021
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  10. BenC

    BenC
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    Yeah, banded guitarfish without the dark markings.
     
    #10 BenC, Jan 26, 2021
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  11. citruspirate

    citruspirate
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    Do the dark markings not show on juveniles?
     
    #11 citruspirate, Jan 26, 2021
  12. A-Train

    A-Train
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    They have to earn their stripes.
     
    #12 A-Train, Jan 26, 2021
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  13. Noms

    Noms Dirty taco maker
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    Glad to hear that you and your son tossed him back. Shame on the guy who was just going to let it die on the pier for no reason. The banded skates like cool in the water.
     
    #13 Noms, Jan 31, 2021
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