During more than five years of intensive scouting off Dieppe, preparing for my professional guide activity, I had the pleasure of landing several trophy fish. Among them, this exceptional thornback ray, weighing 4.825 kg (10 lb 10 oz), was officially recognized as the French all-category record.
Almost ten years ago, I decided to deepen my knowledge of this species to target large specimens on light tackle. The thornback ray is the most common ray in Dieppe waters. Renowned for its graceful, wide-ranging movements, it delivers exceptional fights. A 2 kg ray can feel as powerful as a 3–4 kg sea bass.
Powerful Fights on the Ray
Unlike bass, a ray’s strike doesn’t rush in a long run. Instead, it stops the line abruptly and maintains constant strength throughout the fight. This species is highly sought after in the United Kingdom, both from shore and from boat, using surfcasting or bottom fishing techniques. British anglers favor large baits, often combining highly aromatic, strong-smelling ingredients. They mix cuttlefish or squid with fresh ragworm and oily fish such as mackerel, securing the bait with elastic thread in what they call a “cocktail bait”.
The largest specimens are usually caught from boats, using heavy rods equipped with spinning reels. Anchored bottom fishing intensifies the fight, particularly in strong currents, requiring robust tackle and careful handling.
Modern Drift Fishing Techniques
I opted to chase these rays using modern, lightweight equipment originally designed for bay-jigging or slow-jigging. Similar to the Tenya rig (weighted hook + shrimp), I fish actively with the rod in hand, presenting the bait either directly or just a few centimeters above the weight. Understanding the behavior of the ray was essential to find and attract these large specimens.
Methodical Search for Big Rays
Thornback rays probe the seabed for shellfish, gastropods, worms, and crustaceans. Occasionally, they rise into midwater or even surface, using their powerful wings to hunt small fish (mackerel, herring, sand eels, sardines, small flatfish) or cephalopods (cuttlefish, squid). However, most rays remain close to the bottom, on sandy flats or partially buried.
They approach beaches, especially sandy banks between rocks, and traverse sandy-muddy channels near oyster and mussel farms. Offshore, I target them around ridges, generally in 10–40 m of water. The richness of the seabed creates an ideal habitat. Nautical charts provide crucial information on underwater relief and substrate. A prominent ridge is indicated by a depth significantly different from surrounding areas.
The record rays on funds rich in shells
While some rays may roam near the top of a ridge, especially at dusk, they generally favor flat areas adjacent to ridges where prey accumulates. Eddies and currents behind these features deposit bivalves, gastropods, and even cephalopods—perfect for the ray’s diet. The area also attracts other species like red mullet, dogfish, or cod, so rays must share their bounty. When hunting a small fish, they pin it with their wings before feeding, leaving nothing for neighbors.
A few hours of research at home and on the water
Thornback rays prefer tender, fatty flesh, but also crush shellfish and crustaceans with powerful jaws. On a recent session, one ray expelled two razor clams and two langoustines, highlighting the richness of the spot. Nautical charts often mark substrate types; “Sh” indicates shellfish, a good indicator for bottom-dwelling species like sea bream and rays, especially near a ridge.
But I still had a bit of research to do on the water. These fishing spots cover areas of varying sizes. It took time to learn how to better identify the most productive zones. Only after dozens of drifts, recording every single bite, does the GPS mark become accurate. Generally, unlike wreck fishing, a good ray area is not concentrated on one specific point but rather on a small perimeter, whose boundaries are marked using four or five GPS waypoints.
Fishing the France All-Category Record Thornback Ray
After spending several hours scanning these areas, at the expense of other species that I had indeed found, I started hooking bigger and bigger rays. Until the day I was lucky enough to regularly find very large specimens — and especially this 4.825 kg thornback ray, the France all-category line record (caught in Dieppe on 21/10/2017).
This trophy fish had a very special taste after so much research. It was caught in Dieppe on October 21st, 2017, and weighed 4.825 kg on the scales.
