Lately there have been quite a few inquiries about the cobia bite, so here ya go!
Last year I met a customer that was obviously into cobia fishing. Every conversation we had, instantly gravitated towards that specail fish that we both love so much. A friendship was forged and we went cobia fishing, and had a great time. He called me again a couple weeks ago to do some more work, and once again we were talking about cobia. He then invited me on a trip with some good friends of his, that were also into cobia big time. We made the trip south, and instantly I knew upon meeting them that these guys were as serious as they get! Custom, west coast style cobia rods with Vann Staal reels and mono filled the rod holders. The captains hand tied jigs confirmed to me that he was really serious about his cobia fishing! I later learned that Captain Eric is one of the best, though he would never say that, and has won several cobia tournies. I soaked up every bit of knowledge the Captain and Mack had to offer, and we had an absolute blast!
This trip was truely EPIC, at least in my opinion, and was the best day of cobia fishing I've ever had. We caught 17 fish over 25lbs! We released all except for 4 big ones, in the 40lb class.
Here is a little video I made that day. I had better footage from a go-pro, but dropped it overboard!
Please dont report my cobia beating to peta.... it knocks 'em out so they dont destroy the fish box. You'll notice we netted all the fish, rather than gaffing, because Eric has won a cobia tourney by only one ounce. We only clubbed the four fish we kept.
Hope you enjoy! 17 brown clowns in one day!
Incase you cant view the video, we caught like 7 fish this size, with many more just a bit smaller-
That trip was incredible, and I thought it was going to be like that the next trip, but this wasnt the case. The cobia fishing has been real hit and miss so far this year. I went again last week, but we only saw one fish, and lost him at the boat. That day every other boat we talked to also zeroed, including the great Captain Eric who also fished that day.
There has been quite a bit of success by our boys so far though, and one day, four of our local boats caravaned down to find some good fishing......
Slug-O, the craziest cobia guy around here, has us all beat so far this year with his 55lber he caught on his jet ski! Yeah, thats right, a friggin' jet ski! He does pretty well on this rig.... you'll see its decked out with a custom cooler and rod holders, and we even installed a gps/sounder combo and stereo system on this rig......
Hopefully he will add a better image-
Here is a great video he took of the battle!-
Nate had some good luck, and caught 7.
They also came upon a giant school of huge reds, and got 5 on at the same time and was able to land them all. Jeffery Crabtree was also near by in his boat, and he and his friend got two on at the same time as well.
Jeffery kept two that day, including this stud-
So there has been some fish caught, but they seem to be there one day and gone the next. Ive been keeping close tabs with a local to stay informed, and continue to watch the weather for that oppurtunity to pounce.
All fish have been free swimmers, with a few lucky wolf packs found in bait pods. No rays have been spotted so far this year that I know of, but its just a matter of time. All of these fish were taken on squid tipped jigs, but the fish do seem to be more finicky than usual this year, and we have seen several that wouldnt even eat a live pin fish. Townsend went out and bought a crossbow to solve this problem, and we cant wait to test that bad boy out. Ill post as soon as we get the thing bloody!
Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed. I know there will be a few folks upset that I reported about this fish that makes people go completely insane, but hope that most of you will appreciate the info. Its no secret at this point, and the last time I went there was boats everywhere, even though it was a crappy day with 8' swells. That day last week we only saw one fish at the cleaning tables, so like I said it seems to be hit and miss still. Only one way to see if they are there!
Untill next trip, tight lines my friends!
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Originally Posted by ThatGUY
