Well done Neil, you have covered the subject of this thread perfectly, especially with your mention of different fly rod weights. The subject is the conflict of casting, as against angling finesse, what specie of fish is caught doesn't come into it.

Gary, if you rate the skill of landing a very large fish on light fishing gear, also landing a very large fish as a lot of work for no reward, you must be fishing for the pot and not enjoyment ... why don't you simply hold the reel and snap them off. This thread is about angling 'skill' and the reward of beating the odds, which can be considerable. Each to his own I suppose. However, I do note you saw fit to claim records and a nice 'smiley' picture of your catch.

The comments from overseas anglers with regards to the good fortune we have of landing such fish here in Hawke's Bay, are mostly of envy at our extreme good fortune. Strangely, that is the exact way I look at it, also the adrenalin rush is what real sport is all about not the species of fish.

A few nights ago I took a virtual novice angler to the beach and gave him my rod when I hooked a ray. The result being we may now have a very keen angler in the family and 'that' is what sport is all about. I was able to give him a DVD record of the ten minute dual he had with a large fish; to paraphrase a popular advert: the reward was priceless. It didn't stop there, two of his offspring have also visited the same spot trying their hardest to catch 'the big one', sport fishing in my family seems to be alive and well.

With regard to eating eagle rays, a couple of America tourists told me that in the States, they are considered to taste like scollops or scallops (correct spelling) as they pronounced them. Having eaten them I would not agree with the suggestion but I can say the smaller fish, between ten and twenty pounds are delicious if cooked correctly.