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Overview

How to target

Common Stingray
Species ID: common-stingray

Common Stingray

An occasional summer visitor to UK shores, most regularly encountered around the Channel Islands and the warmer south-west and central south coasts during settled spells. Look for...

🌊 Tide: flood 💨 Wind: calm 📅 Peak: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep

Best tide

flood

Moon

spring

Season

May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep

Wind

calm

Max weight

20 kg

Day vs night

Day 60%
Night 80% (best)
An occasional summer visitor to UK shores, most regularly encountered around the Channel Islands and the warmer south-west and central south coasts during settled spells. Look for clean sand or fine sand/mud adjacent to gullies and channels, surf tables and the mouths of estuaries. They often push in on the flooding tide and linger around high water before sliding back. Present baits hard on the deck: whole or half sandeel, mackerel strip, squid strip, king rag or peeler crab, sometimes as a fish/squid cocktail. A simple running ledger or pulley with a long supple trace (60–100 cm) and a 3/0–5/0 strong but fairly narrow-gape hook works well; use a smooth drag and a robust rubbing leader as fish hug the seabed. Calm, clear, warm conditions are ideal. Handle with great care: the tail spine is venomous—keep the fish in shallow water if possible, control the tail, and unhook with long pliers before a quick release.

Temperature

14–21°C

Depth range

1–40 m

Baits

  • Peeler Crab 9/10
  • Ragworm 8.6/10
  • Sandeel 8.2/10
  • Squid 7.8/10
  • Lugworm 7.4/10

Rigs

  • Pulley Pennel Rig 9.1/10

    Tough, fish-lifting rig for big rays. Pennel pins bulky squid/fish baits; pulley keeps the fish high over ledges on the retrieve. Great from surf beaches, piers or low reefs over clean-to-mixed ground and moderate tide.

  • Pulley Pennel Dropper 9/10

    Clipped for distance, then drops a long snood on impact. Pennel holds big bait; pulley aids safe retrieval of heavy rays. Ideal for hitting outer banks on clean sand or mixed ground with some tide run.

  • Up and Over 8.7/10

    Distance-friendly and presents a long snood flat on the seabed—exactly where stingrays feed. Best on clean beaches and estuary mouths as the flood pushes fish in; good with squid/fish cocktail baits.

  • Long & Low 8.4/10

    Streamlined for casting but fishes a long snood tight to the sand, giving a natural scent trail. Suits surf beaches and gentle tides where rays patrol gutters.

  • Running Ledger 8/10

    Simple flowing presentation with minimal resistance so rays can pick up and settle. Use when range is modest from piers/harbours or short casts onto clean sand in calm seas.

Where to catch common stingray

Counties with rated common stingray marks and local notes on how well the species shows.

Common Stingray in Hampshire 4