Cape Point Surf Fishing Story -The Booby Prize

A Cape Point surf fishing story...

The Big Booby Prize

We, my better half and I, were camping at the Cape Point Campgrounds on Hatteras Island in the town of Buxton, North Carolina. I was in the mood for some sun and hoping I might get lucky and get on a early school of Spanish. She just felt like getting a tan.

After setting up my casting rod I put it to the side and started setting up my surf rod. I like to use a double drop rig that I devised in my sitting around the campsite being productive.

With my new Daiwa pole and reel set up, I cast my weight and bait rig out as far as I could, put the pole in the holder and grabbed a beer and my new beach chair, that had a beer holder incase of a need for a quick departure.

We had the beach all to ourselves accept for the occasional beach roaming humans looking for shells and other treasures. I'm pretty sure we were at the point end of the beach off of outlet 48. What a great place to relax with a beer.

No sooner than I sat in my chair, as my hand was bringing up that nice cold brew to my lips, did my new pole bend in half! I put that beer down so fast!

Thankful the pole holder stayed upright, I pulled the pole up and set the hook. My pole bent in half again as my drag zinged and my line spun off the spool.

I instantly knew what I had hooked! The dreaded "Boobie Prize!!!". It was what my better half and I came to call the Rays, all Rays.

As my line started to rise through the water, a couple of beach walkers were drawn to the action. Then the beast surfaced.

What you have to realize is, I have 16 lbs test and a 50 lbs shock leader and then my rig set up. I wanted to just break it off so as not to stretch all my new line out. Then I changed my mind. I kept on the fight.

The crowd grew substantially, two more people showed up as the fight kept on. I was wondering how this was even possible??? The Ray was huge. It ran at least five 100 yard dashes trying to get off that hook and each time I drudgingly brought it back in.

 After the sixth run I got it to the shoreline and with a couple of rounds of shock leader on the spool I started to horse it in. As long as my knots held and the hook didn't bend I had a chance to save my set up. Which is all I wanted. I always hated catching something that had hooks and line hanging from it's mouth.

With a couple of wraps of shock leader around my hand and a surge of waves, I pulled the Cow Ray up onto the shore, just enough to get the hook out of it's mouth.

I wanted to get it back in the water as soon as possible and one of the guys that watched the epic battle between man and beast offered to help. While we were waiting for waves to help with pushing the ray back in we all started talking.

The Ray sat a good six feet above the water line, none of us could believe I landed it. As we BS'd, a set of waves came in and that Cow Ray lifted it's body onto the edge of it's wings and glided by itself effortlessly into the water. This Blew Our Minds!!!

The End.