Most people target cobia (ling, crab-eaters, etc.) by sight fishing and a few like chumming them up, but what about trolling? Fewer people troll, which is a shame because this tactic is not only effective, it allows you to cover ground when you don’t know exactly where the fish are congregated and conditions are poor for sight fishing.
The trick to catching cobia on the troll is in the rigging. You’ll want a mix of #1, #2, and #3 planers, with 20’ of 50- or 60-pound leader split in the middle with a ball-bearing swivel and a second ball-bearing (snap) swivel on the end. Don’t skip the swivels, because the lure you’re going to use causes tremendous line twist without it. Just what is that lure…?
A 24” surgical hose tube eel in shades of red, green, or orange. Generally speaking red and off-reds like pink will catch the lion’s share of the fish, but there will be days when green or orange shines. Critically, make sure that after you snap the hose onto the end of the leader, you slide the hook through the eye, grab either side of the circle you just made, twist it into a figure eight, and then give a firm tug. This sets a twist into the hose, which makes it “swim” in a corkscrew fashion through the water. Before deploying the rig toss the hose over the side and watch it at the surface, to be sure it’s swimming and not dragging.
Set out a spread of mixed planer sizes, at least two reds, and a pair of whatever else strikes your fancy. Set your speed at three to four mph and cross your fingers. If and when you get a cobia on the line, remember that you’ll need to hand-leader in the line beyond the planer. It’s best to pull the throttles back to clutch speed but keep the boat in gear at all times during the fight, including while leadering the fish.
The next time low light or rough water conditions prevent you from sight fishing and you don’t feel like getting the boat all chummed up or don’t know of a spot with a particularly hot bite, give trolling a try. There’s a good chance that if any cobia are around, you’ll discover it’s you new favorite tactic for getting those beasts into the boat.