Every fly fisher who has stood on a saltwater flat knows the feeling of scanning empty water and wondering where on earth the fish are. On this episode of the Fly Fishing Insider Podcast, host Christian Bacasa talked with Gian Boysen, a South African biologist turned New Zealand saltwater specialist, about one of the most reliable ways to answer that question anywhere in the world: follow the rays. Stingrays cruising a flat are moving dinner bells, and the game fish that shadow them, from kingfish to snapper, are some of the most exciting targets on the fly. Here is how the rays work, and how to turn them into hookups.

Where New Zealand's Saltwater Flats Live

First, the lay of the land. New Zealand is two big islands, and the bulk of true flats-style saltwater fly fishing happens on the North Island's east coast, where eelgrass, mangrove-lined mud flats, and shallow harbor systems create wadeable water you can cover on foot. Gian operates around Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty, a harbor system that is largely intertidal. One thing that catches visiting anglers off guard is the tide: it can swing roughly two meters, about six and a half feet, between high and low. That is both an opportunity and a hazard. Falling tides concentrate and feed fish, but some of these flats are a two-kilometer walk from dry land, so learn the tide chart before you wade out.

Why Game Fish Ride the Rays

Here is the biology that makes the whole thing work. Rays and sharks carry special sensory organs around the mouth called the ampullae of Lorenzini, tiny pores filled with a conductive gel that detect the faint electrical fields put out by any living thing, a beating heart or a buried crab. A ray gliding across a flat can pick up a hidden crab, flounder, or shrimp from a distance and swim over to root it out. When that prey bolts, the game fish riding the ray, whether it is a kingfish here or a permit or bonefish elsewhere in the world, pounces on the escapee. This is the same reason you will see fish traveling alongside sharks. The ray does the digging; the predator collects the scraps.

How to Actually Fish a Ray

Spotting a ray is only step one; the payoff takes patience. Gian points out that rays travel between feeding spots, and while they are just cruising, no fish may be with them. But when a ray reaches a productive patch and starts to root and mud, fish appear seemingly out of nowhere to feed on what it kicks up. So do not write a ray off after a quick look. Follow a slow, mudding ray for fifteen or twenty minutes and fish may stack on it, or hold ten to fifteen feet off to the side where you might not even notice them at first. The tell for a feeding, worth-following ray is when it stops traveling in a straight line and starts scouring the bottom. Kingfish in particular give themselves away with a distinct zig-zagging wake as they work back and forth.

Follow the Beef

Gian's tip for getting good at any of this is a phrase he borrowed from a friend: follow the beef. In other words, take your advice from people who actually do the thing you want to do. If you are planning a trip for giant trevally, learn from a GT angler, not the trout guide up in the hills, and the same goes for fly tying or any regional specialty. When Gian preps a client, he thinks through the whole trip start to finish, from what to pack to what to watch for during the fight. And the single skill that pays off most, no matter where you fish, is casting proficiency: being able to make one or two false casts, shoot line, and lay the fly down accurately and delicately before a fast-moving fish changes direction. The best casters he guides are not distance casters, they are the ones who understand exactly how much power a cast needs so the fly turns over and settles without spooking the fish.

Gear for the Salt

New Zealand's flats reward a versatile setup and a box of proven patterns. If a saltwater trip is anywhere on your horizon, the Fly Rod Chronicles Saltwater Fly Assortment covers the crab, shrimp, and baitfish imitations that flats fish key on, so you are ready whether they are tailing on crustaceans or chasing bait. And because so much of Gian's advice comes back to presentation and preparation, our Tips and Tricks for Fly Fishing eBook is a smart companion for sharpening the fundamentals before you travel. Watch the rays, and follow the beef.