Massive Butterfly Ray Caught At The Jersey Shore

LAVALLETTE, NJ — While most people are sleeping on a summer evening, it's not uncommon to find Nick Honachefsky prowling the beaches, fishing rod in hand.

Surf fishing is one of the favorite pastimes of this Lavallette resident. Honachefsky, an outdoor writer who has traveled extensively to write about fishing for everything from porgies to exotics, has caught most species at the Jersey Shore that you can imagine.

But even he was a little surprised when he pulled in a massive butterfly ray in the surf in the wee hours of Monday morning while he was shark fishing with friends.

The massive creature had a wingspan of 6 feet and he estimated it weighed about 150 pounds.

"These massive creatures are gentle giants with a tiny tail. He was released immediately after (we took) the hook out," Honachefsky said in a post on Facebook.

"All rays and sharks caught in the surf (by me for certain) and by most anglers are immediately released, with the hook taken out as fast as possible and the fish only out of the water for a minimum amount of time, usually a minute at most," Honachefsky said. "Uneducated anglers may keep them out of the water longer, but as a professional sportfishing writer, I try to educate the public as much as possible to avoid misinformation and to promote proper handling and release."

"The wonder and beauty of the ocean's inhabitants truly hold us in awe and its pretty darn cool to visualize the wonderful beasts that swim amongst us at the Jersey Shore," he wrote.

The smooth butterfly ray is typically 3 to 4 feet wide and unlike stingrays does not pose a danger to humans because it lacks a spine in its tail, according to the University of Florida website. Its cousin, the spiny butterfly ray, has a spine in its tail but its stings, while painful, are not lethal, the website says.

A variety of rays are common in the Jersey Shore surf in July and August, including stingrays and cow-nose rays, named for their appearance because their head looks like a cow's nose. Butterfly rays are less common, usually being found from Maryland on south.

Photo courtesy of Nick Honachefsky