re: sting ray barbs(flounder gigging spinoff)

Shuffle your feet. Sure it works.

But. But. But!!!

Shuffling your feet also scares off flounders. See OP subject title re. "flounder gigging spinoff".

My reply is also intended for the numerous posters who agreed with "shuffle your feet".

What are each of you trying to do? Gig a flounder? Or scare off both stingrays and flounders in order to avoid a stingray barb?

To gig flounders, you "must" (IMO) take a chance and not shuffle your feet.

If you are casting while wading and trying to avoid being nailed by a stingray's tail/barb, by all means shuffle your feet. Just don't try that if you are flounder gigging. That's my opinion.

BTW, I have gigged stingrays while flounder gigging in the past. Now, that's a problem. You must be able to identify correctly. Correctly...

Good fishing.

I went gigging a lot with my Uncle when I was younger and always shuffled my feet. We ALWAYS came back with flounder. Shuffling works.

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is it THAT painful?

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HELL YES! I got stuck in the hand during a drunken trot lining experience. Damn thing went in between my middle and ring finger on my right hand. Made a hole big enough for a q-tip and made me bleed like a hog. The throbbing was terrible and i couldn't make a fist for two weeks. Soaked it in hot water and commenced to drinking heavily since we were at an isolated camp miles away by boat from anything.

The elusive "skate".

I was in gulf shores last year and those bastards were shocking the shite out of my ankles.

It felt like a 9V battery to me, and a guy walking down the beach told me his kids were getting hit by them also, so he researched and found out that it is a "skate".

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The elusive "skate". I was in gulf shores last year and those bastards were shocking the shite out of my ankles.

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Got torn up by those things last year in Gulf Shores as well. They were everywhere.

I have been down there every year since 2008, and last year was my first encounter with them, they were everywhere.

I did hook into a huge ray in 2008 while surf fishing cut squid. It pulled me about 1/4mi out and 1/4mi to the right. The whole beach was cheering me on, and after about an hour and a half fight I beached that big bastard....definately a "like a boss" moment

I know, I know...no pics.

My dad was dancing around that thing trying to take a picture without getting a barb to the foot. I will have to see if my mom has any pictures of it on her camera.

As soon as I landed it, it sucked itself onto / into the sand and I couldnt move it at all.

Wild experience for sure, I was actually in Fort Morgan staying in a house just down the road from the fort park. There was a platform not too far from shore and that ray was pulling me dangerously close to it.

I was just floating out in the water while my dad was screaming in my ear the whole time "coaching" me, I had no clue what I had on the line until I made it back to the beach.

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"coaching" me

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There is nothing better than someone trying to coach someone else who is physically exhausted. Thats when the expletives start.

"Keep that tip up, son. Try to wear him down. Bring him back closer this way. Crank down on hi...SHUT THE HELL UP DAD!"

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gorillacoco

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Yep, that's the one. I only saw one of them, but I did see several other sting rays of the more normal-looking variety. I'm sure they were everywhere under the sand.