Aquaholic Fishing CharterFree cancellation up to 5 days beforeFrom €500
Hussler Charterboat RamsgateFree cancellation up to 5 days beforeFrom £250
Lady ann family boat Free cancellation up to 5 days beforeFrom £400
The name is loose. On the Kent coast most anglers use skate for the bigger rays, above all the thornback, with its rough back and thorny tail. The true common skate is a far larger, long-snouted fish that has become rare and is protected, and one that is hooked goes back alive. The method is the same for all of them: a fish or squid bait on the bottom, a wait, then a slow, heavy pull. Once hooked, a ray turns its wings into the tide and feels much heavier than it is.
Hussler names skate as one of its popular targets out of Ramsgate, and an early October 2026 report from its short trips had a skate among bass to 5lb, smoothhounds and the first gurnard of the autumn. The 26 foot boat takes up to 6 and leaves the marina at 08:00 on 3, 4 or 6 hour trips at any state of the tide, tackle and bait supplied.
Elsewhere in Kent, Lady Ann bottom fishes the inshore marks for up to 10, on a full day from 08:00 or four hours from 16:30, with skate on its list beside conger, bass, whiting and dogfish. The crew prepare any fish you keep before you go ashore.
In Malta, Aquaholic lists skate among the bottom fish of its reef and wreck days from St. Paul's Bay. Rays do live on the Maltese seabed, but nobody travels to Malta for them; one on a bottom bait is a bonus, and Captain Paul is straight about the chances.
Questions and answers
Short answers to what people ask before they book. Anything else, ask the captain in chat.
Is the skate on Hussler's Ramsgate trips a protected common skate?
Probably not, though only the skipper can say for a given fish. On the Kent coast skate mostly means one of the larger rays, often a thornback. A true common skate is rare there and protected, and any that is hooked goes back.
Do I need a long trip to catch skate off Kent?
Not always: Hussler's skate in October 2026 came on one of its short trips. Ray fishing is a waiting game, though, so a 6 hour Hussler trip or Lady Ann's full day from 08:00 gives the bait more time on the bottom.