Fished last night and landed at 10:ish to sirens and lights. A PB'er had an artery severed by a rays stinger, according to the Lifeguard I spoke with.
The scene on the beach was not pretty, beached twin engine and allot of blood....Good news was that he was met by the paramedics almost immediately and taken to Scripps. Hope he is ok.
So, for the love of Pete if you hook one, just cut the line, in addition to injuring you i'm certain that stinger could do serious damage to your kayak as well.
Side note- If you are fishing at night make sure you have a deck light or head lamp at the least. The boat above passed us doing at least 20knots on its way to shore. Later when we were helping them get off the sand one of the crew members said "I m glad we saw your light"
Best,
Josh
PS- Sorry for the PSA- I guess having two children is turning me into a danger ranger and I will have to abandon my long standing motto of "safety 3rd"