Cobia-Going Overboard!

Cool Cobia Story

Okay: we know cobia (ling) are cool fish. They fight like a bulldog, and taste about as good as any saltwater fish on the face of the planet. So it’s easy to go overboard for them. In this case, however…

Assuming you aren’t quite as crazy as this guy, how are you going to wrap your hands around a cobia? Start off by reading Cobia Chumming Tricks. If you’re not a somewhat advanced angler, chumming will be the best way to hook into one of these fish. Many anglers, however, like to sight-fish for them. This means prowling around likely areas where they are known to be seen, checking buoys (they love to hide under them), and probing weedlines. Once you spot one cast out five to 10 feet beyond and in front of the fish, and retrieve your offering right past its nose. And, use these catching tips:

1. Choose brightly-colored bucktails dressed with twister tails, and/or plastic jigs.
2. When these fish are meandering on the surface ignores your lure time and again, try casting out and letting it free-fall. Sometimes that will trigger an attack; the fish will suddenly disappear, and the next thing you know, you’ll feel a hit.
3. Always have a back-up angler ready with a second rod and reel ready to go, when a cobia is on the line. They often travel in pairs, and will follow one another. Even though one fish is hooked, when offered a bait or lure fish number-two will often strike it.
4. When you first bring one of these fish up to the boat, be prepared for a sudden surge. Quite often they’ll allow themselves to be reeled up without much of a tussle. Then, when they see the boat, they go utterly berserk.
5. If you hook into a monster that out-classes your gear, expect the fish to settle in 10 to 20 feet from the boat and play tug-of-war. When this happens the fight can go on forever, and eventually, the hook will pull or the leader will chaff. In this situation use your boat to get closer to the fish. Parallel it and slowly creep closer and closer, so it doesn’t realize what’s going on until the gaff sticks it.

Lenny Rudow