Skate – Common (Raja batis)
Record: 221lbs, Ballycotton, 1913
Common Skate – suspended from ISFC list of eligible species
Leading edges of wings taper progressively into snout. Upper side grey. On capture, yellow or gold spangle-like markings and/or eyelike spots may he present, but these fade rapidly after death. Underside usually greyish, sometimes almost black in the central region, but often becoming white towards the wing tips. Entirely white-bellied forms are common, but the pores are always marked with black. Grows to more than 200 lb. in weight.
NOTE: The larger species of Raja are commonly referred to as “skates” while the smaller species are called “rays”. A further point of distinction is that, if a straight-edge is laid from wing-tip to tip of snout, the leading edge of the disc will fall behind the straight-edge in “skates,” whereas in “rays” part of the disc will overlap the straigh edge. None of the rays have black-marked pores on the underside, which is always White.
| Best Times to Fish Common Skate | |||||||||||
| Note: ★ ★ Very good time to fish Common Skate | |||||||||||
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