I had a question about wade fishing and stingrays.

As a kid I have been struck by a stingray but a really small one. A little blood and some pain but it was nothing that major when I look back on it.

But my question is concerning wearing stringray protection boots and whether or not they really do protect.

I have always used the Ray Guard wading boots that have the Kevlar protective shields around the top of the foot and ankle and leg to protect my feet when wading. If I don't wear them then I would just use regular flats wading boots shuffling my feet as I should. No matter what I have used I have never had a problem.

But then I heard that people that have used these protective wading boots have actually had stingrays puncture right through them????

I would think something like Kevlar that can stop a bullet could stop a stingray barb but maybe I am wrong since I am not an expert in Kevlar of any bulletproof vest material and what it can do. I have heard some bullets or guns can actually shoot through bullet proof vests.

But I don't know if what people are saying is that the stingray barb actually went through the Kevlar or maybe they were using something other than the Ray Guard boots. I know they make just the guards themselves that you can use with just regular wading boots. But those have a tendency to ride up since they have nothing to secure them to go underneath the sole of the boot to keep them from riding up your calves. And maybe in this case the stingray was able to get these people through an area that was not protected.

Also I read that stingrays can get you in different places. Small ones tend to strike low such as on your foot or ankle. Whereas bigger stingrays strike higher such and on the ankle or calf. But I don't know for sure.

I have heard that with the Ray Guard boots a guy claimed he has gotten hit several times and all he felt was the stingray barb try to penetrate his boot and he can see where the barb tried to go through and all he felt was the barb brush against the protective part of his boot.

I use these boots but I was just curious if a stingray barb can still penetrate them? The way I see it is any protection is better than nothing and I have better peace of mind knowing I have them on than with no protection but I still shuffle my feet when wading just to not take any chances.

I wear flats boots w/seperate calf guards. Both are Everlast brand. Never had a problem w/guards riding up. Never even seen a ray while wading. The protective material(kevlar?) comes further up on the ankle and seems thicker on the reef boots, making them heavier and more cumbersome. I'm not sure the material used is actually kevlar. The boots, both flats & reef, seem to have a vulcanized rubber, the guards seem to be a hard plastic PVC. All that aside the "peace of mind" comes in the form of confidence, and confidence catches fish.

Hah hah, yes the Everlast boots with the protective guards on them are kinda heavy and cumbersome. You feel like a knight ready to go into battle !! Those are the ones I wear but once I am in the water they are not as bad.

I know they sell the Ray Guards seperate. The ones you can attach to any wading boot. They run I think like $25 at Academy. So you don't have any problem with them riding up on your calves? I may try them and give them a shot since paired with some wading boots they would be a lot lighter than the Everlast boots with the protective guards on them that are a bit heavy.

I know there is a company that makes some guards that have a strap that also goes underneath your wading boot. In order to prevent any possibility of the guards riding up on the calves. I don't know the brand though. I know they are black in color. Whereas the Ray Guard ones are tan in color.

I've seen stingrays while wading but I have never stepped on a big one. Only when I was little I stepped on a really small one and it was no big deal. But I know the big ones can really do some damage and possibly end up in the hospital.

My dad stepped on a pretty big stingray many years ago in Corpus Christi on a beach somewhere. And he told me he ended up in the hospital and he remembers a lot of blood everywhere on his foot and he said it was very painful.

Remember that crocodile hunter guy? Didn't he die of a stingray stabbing him in his chest or something?

But yeah I hope I never come across a stingray. Even with protective boots on I think it would give you a scare. This guy said he has had several stingrays get him but he had those Ray Guards on and all he said he felt was the barb brush into his guards and he definitely felt the stingray try to get him but it didn't penetrate at all. But he could see on the guards where the barb tried to go in.

I remember a long time ago my dad caught a stingray off of the Sea Wolf Park Pier. That was over 20 years ago before we had a boat and I remember some guys helping him bring it up with a net and it was a big stingray and there was a group of Vietnamese guys fishing next to us, really cool guys, and we we giving them small perch to use for bait and they didn't have any luck and when they saw my dad was going to throw back the stingray they wanted to keep it and they took it and left and seemed really happy.

Oh yeah I believe in the confidence in catching fish.

A friend of mine were talking about choice of baits and so forth and we were discussing how there are a lot of baits we would like to take with us and use while wading but obviously you can't carry everything you want in every color and size you like or else you would have a mess of boxes around your shoulder and it would just get in the way of a comfortable wading experience.

So we just try to narrow it down to just a few baits that we have confidence in. And as long as we really have confidence in those baits and fish them then usually we catch fish.

For instance I have a LOT of confidence in a bone color topwater lure. I would never wade without carrying one or two in different sizes. Primarily a Super Spook and Super Spook Jr. in bone color. But there are times when fish just won't hit anything you throw no matter what and that's just the way it is sometimes.

If you like scallops, then you may want to fish for a few good sized 'rays....the wingmeat is very similar to the taste of scallops. You can soak the meat in milk for about 20-30- minutes, rinse and bake/broil....very good!

i got stabbed by a ray back on july 15..........and after 3 surgeries and lots of doing nothing am finally back to getting around. get the guards because its not worth going thru what i have gone thru at all!

Wow, that sounds pretty good intexas. Never had stingray before but it sounds good if it is similar to scallops. I like scallops, clams/mussels, oysters, etc.

Man I hope you are okay metalcowboy, 3 surgeries and being out since July 15 is a long time. How did the stingray get you if you mind me asking? Where you wading in a bay or on a beach/surf? Was it a big stingray or did you get a chance to see it?

i was wade fishing in about waist deep water on the south shoreline of east matagorda bay in matagorda......my cousin had caught about a 22-23 inch trout and had forgotten his stringer at the truck so i told him no problem ive got mine....well my feet had bogged down in the mud so i had to pick them up, actually i had only picked up my left foot to turn around and it hit me before i even got to turn..........and when somebody tells you it hurts really bad....trust me they are saying it in the nicest way possible. he must have been pretty big because he got me on the front of my leg about halfway up and i'm not a small guy either...i'm 6'4.... then i couldnt walk because it got to boggy so my cousins had to drag me in.........dont EVER want to go thru anything like this again.....and hope nobody here does either!!!

Bad thing about the way the Barb on a Ray is designed to dig deeper and deeper the more the muscle contracts. They can REALLY put a hurtin on you. Stingray shuffle don't always work either. I bet in your case HMCowboy when your feet sank in the soft mud bottom that big ole ray was layin rite smack on top of them and when you went to move he nailed ya. Hope ya get back to 100% and Tight Lines to ya!!!


Rob

Dang, never knew that!

As a person who wears Kevlar just about every day... Kevlar is a man made material designed to stop bullets. It can be cut or punctured with a knife or sharp object. This mainly applies to a regular vest like most LEO's wear. Kevlar is weakend by UV and water, I would assume that salwater would weaken Kevlar even worse. Then it wont stop anything. So.... save the money and dont worry about it. If that ray wants to get you he will find a way.

If you've never been plugged by a stingray.... go jump off a cliff cause it might be less painful.

Never been hit. I just shuffle and slide and never take a back step. They say that's when they get ya, cuz they circle you sometimes after your shuffle pushes them with the pressure wave. If you back step, is when you get tagged. At least that's what I've always heard. Dont really care to confirm it.