Went halibut fishing yesterday in my tube off of Goleta Beach. Got two shorts to 20 inches and then hooked into something huge. Didn't see it for a half an hour but it felt like I was getting really big head shakes. It finally came to the surface, rolled about 25 feet in front of me and then darted straight for my tube. It was a big Bat Ray. It sped straight under my tube and out the other side melting the 14 lb. test off my reel. I worked my way through the waves and landed the tube while I was still fighting the ray. After another 15 minutes I worked it into the surf as far as possible. Turned out he was foul hooked in the wing (head shakes!). Took a quick rough measurement and he busted off with the next wave. I was bummed it wasn't a halibut or seabass but it was still nice getting such a huge beast from the float tube. It was around 50 inches (wingspan).

The two halibut were caught near the surf on a Fastrac and 4 in. Channel Islands Chovy Fishtrap.