With very few exceptions, skate are taken in water depths exceeding 300ft. The main grounds are the Firth of Lorn, Sound of Mull and in deeper areas of the North Channel. It's not something to tackle (no pun intended!) lightly. We kit up with 50lb class rods, 6/0 size reels, 100lb mainline braid, 150lb leader and 250lb traces. Couple this to a 2lb weight and a 12/0 size hook. Bait on Sunday was four mackeral and a whole octopus on each hook.
It's not unknown to take two hours to bring a big skate up from these depths and it may take up to an hour just to lift it off the bottom as they dig their wing tips in under the muddy seabed and create a vacuum. On top of this, you'll need a large size butt pad, a harness, two gaffs for getting the fish on board and a net for lifting them back overboard.
Have added some new pics of a 182lb fish coming aboard. Have a wee look?
http://s95.photobucket.com/albums/l141/ ... il%202009/