Cobia Fishing

[Nauti Natured]

Box's news of the Beast's successful day has got me thinking about chasing Mr. Cobia. So ... lets hear it?

Where do you find them?

Mostly live bait? Jigs? What size tackle?

What is a keeper?

How do you like to clean 'em / cook 'em?

I dont know much about the species other than they taste good and that they will beat your boat to death if you bring them in green

[Timber]

I target them at The Chesapeake Bay-Bridge Tunnel in late June. The way I do it is to anchor up, chum a little with cut bait and soak baits such as fresh cut bunker, crab, even live eels which cobia love. They'll eat anything though.
Biggest one on my boat is a 50 incher caught in 2007 which we released. In August its time to look for them around buoys and throw jigs at them. Good luck!

[swell rider]

Hey Chris,

I got into them real good last year during May and June offshore while Bottom Fishing around a few of the wrecks..almost all were on 8oz Hammerd Diamond jigs..
Give me a shout when your down next time...Later Ken

[WAHOONBOX]

OPEN UP THE STOMACH CAVITY AND EXPLORE THE LUNCH....YOU WILL BE AMAZED

SPINEY BLOWFISH...BIG ONES

SOMETIMES THEY ARE PACKED WITH PLATE SIZE STING RAYS

MAYBE EVEN A BLUEFISH....OR PERHAPS A MEANDERING TURTLE

[JMS-ILM]

this time of year down our way, we target them around our inlets and shoals and adjacent deep holes.....anchor or drift dead and live bait on the bottom, midwater, and surface. some sight fishing to be had but that is more of an outer banks thing it seems. it always pays to cruise by any bouys to see what might be lurking beneath this time of year.

i like live menhaden, mullets, and bluefish. crabs too if you wish. fished with an upsized caroina rig with whatever sized eggsinker(or sinker slide and pyramid, side-to in current) fits the conditions, 50-80 lb leader, owner ssw circle hook. also a bait or two lightlined or under a balloon. and always have a rod rigged to cast a large bucktail jig to a cruising fish that might happen by. white, yellow, and black are popular colors.

sight fishing is done more with artificials. same type bucktails as above.

[Split Bill]

Hey guys, any tips for sight fishing these fish in the outerbanks? Specifically last year, i felt like we got bites out of maybe 25% or less of the fish we cast to. Looking to increase that this year and was wondering if you all use live bait when casting? A variety of lures if the first doesn't work?

Thanks for the help!

Ed

[Anders]

Hey guys, any tips for sight fishing these fish in the outerbanks? Specifically last year, i felt like we got bites out of maybe 25% or less of the fish we cast to. Looking to increase that this year and was wondering if you all use live bait when casting? A variety of lures if the first doesn't work?

Thanks for the help!

Ed

throw a green buck tail or a live eel, live eel is the best choice with proper placement though

[Robja]

We caught several around Frying Pan Tower. We were slow trolling for kings and had several come up behind the boat. Lost several after a good fight because they were pulling the hook on the king rigs. I switched rigs and put a single circle hook rig thru a pogies nose and tossed it back and let the fish take it. The cobia did not come off the circle hook. Great fighting fish but they sure beat the crap out of the boat when you bring them in.

[Bird Dog]

During the early season in the lower bay, we anchor and chum. Put a chum bag off the stern and one on the bottom with a bait right next to it. That rig usually catches the most fish. I use all live bait with most of them on the bottom on fish finder rigs. Maybe 1 on a float on top. The chum brings in the bluefish and they destroy the baits on top.Catch a bluefish and put one on top, a bluefish won't mess with a bluefish....usually. Have a bucktail ready for casting. Some people will catch one or a stingray, tie it off to a cleet and let it swim in the current. Later in the year it's time to bouy hop or sight cast to them. Throw bucktails or live bait around the bouys.

[Fins&Feathers]

My cousin caught 70lb cobia of the south beach @ Ocracoke with fatback chunks back in our school days.
Cato catches them site casting bucktales and so does the OI fleet up and down the beach.
A few captians chum with cut bait and live.
Capt Joe Shute came to our meeting last year and talked about Cobia fishing with live bait and chum bags.
We need him to sign on.
If I can remember he uses this seceret wepon, cant remember the name something about carteret county but it is a 2 liter cut in half with a handle ...fill it half full of cut up fresh fatback and toss out over the side.... or was that for drum fishing??
Location in about less than 50ft of water

Good luck and lets see some blood on the deck.