An Adelaide man has defended sport fishing after a massive stringray catch caused an uproar on a popular South Australian beach.

Ben Knighton snagged the huge ray at Brighton beach on Thursday night, to the distress of onlookers.

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Knighton says he was pushed and spat on by beach-goers as he tried to return the ray to the water.

A keen fisherman, Knighton often goes to the jetty to see what he can catch.

Massive catch

He and a couple of mates hooked the ray at the end of the jetty and fought it for more than an hour when they realised they'd caught something bigger than intended.

Knighton says he's caught "hundreds of rays" over the years, but nothing quite like this one.

"We realised we wouldn't be able to get the hook out, so the next best bet was to drag it down to the beach," he told 7NEWS.

With the help of his mates, Knighton was able to wrestle the giant to the packed shore.

"On the beach, the crowd started building," Knighton said.

"We landed it on the beach and all hell broke loose."

One woman stands dangerously close to the ray while the fishermen attempt to take out the hook. Credit: Supplied

Video of the capture shows distressed children looking on, calling for the men to "put it back".

But Knighton says things got out of hand when all he was trying to do was safely release the ray.

"Yeah, it was pretty insane," he said.

"There's a safe way to go about landing rays.

"It can be pretty dangerous."

Horrified onlookers

A woman can be seen standing perilously close to the ray while she berates one of the fisherman, while another is seen attempting to wrestle Knighton's rod from his hands.

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"The way people went about it was completely ridiculous," Knighton said.

"It's absolutely crazy that people have to be that rude."

Once the hook was finally dislodged, Knighton picked the stingray up by the gills - the safest way to move it - and returned it to the water.

He says after that, things continued to escalate.

Knighton managed to drag the '100kg plus' ray back into the water. Credit: Supplied

"The police were called... one woman spat on me while another tried to push me away from the ray," he said.

"It was absolute shenanigans."

Fishing for stingrays of any size is legal in South Australia, but Knighton says many wouldn't bother removing the hook.

Chevron Right Icon 'We're not out here slaughtering stingrays or killing them.'

"I truly love these animals and refuse to keep any hooks or leaders in the fish," he said.

"We're not out here slaughtering stingrays or killing them.

"It's a sport... it's a hobby."

The massive ray appeared to be a female, swimming in the area for breeding season.