Thread: Cobia education request

I've only laid eyes on a few cobia in my trips to the ocean, and I realize that springtime is when you generally see them in-shore, but I'm bored and want to learn something, and I don't see a lot of advice on the forum about hooking/fighting them on here. I did a thread search this morning out of curiosity, and turned up nothing to answer my question, so I thought I'd pose it here:

so I throw a lure/live bait out past a cobia's nose without spooking him, and it decides to swim over and chomp down on the business end of my line...how does it typically play out from there? Do you let them eat for a while or set the hook right away? What fighting style are they known for? Any tips for getting one in to the pier successfully?

Also, what sort of live/cut baits do they seem to favor?

Thanks for the education!

I've never caught one from the pier or the beach but I am going to try next week.
I do know that they don't call him, "The MAN in the brown suit for nothing."
The reason you have more and heavier line on your pin rig is because you might find the man in the brown suit.
We caught some on an offshore boat once. They are really curious and come up to the boat just to look at us.
I know that they think a live hardhead on a float is like candy. And they like little crabs too.

"Do you let them eat for a while or set the hook right away? What fighting style are they known for?"

I've only caught one on the pier but a bunch offshore. Sometimes you have to let them eat, other times, if you wait, they will spit the bait. So its a gamble. If he looks like he has the bait fully in his mouth, jack him up.
They fight until you hit them in the head with a baseball bat. Even when they seem to be given out, they will fight some more.

I have had success with live eel. One day me and some buddies beached 4 in one afternoon surf fishing in Destin. We got them to the waves and then the wrestling match was on...hehehe

They have a tendency to come in green and then go insane when gaffed. The biggest one I ever gaffed took me 2 tries because it twisted violently as I attempted to lift it over the gunwhale, ripping out the gaff and leaving a giant hole in the fish. Luckily the angler, my dad, was aware of this possibility and kept light tension on the line so it stayed hooked up and we boated the fish next time around. It is easy to see how this behavior can be an extra big problem when pier fishing, so consider playing the fish until exhaustion if it is too large to really control.

Cobia can be very finicky, or they can be very easy to fool. Most pier fishermen fish for cobia with jigs during the spring. If you see a cobia, cast your jig in front of the fish and a little past it so you can retrieve the jig just past his face. When fishing a jig, if the fish eats and you see the jig disappear, immediately set the hook. Jack him up! Sometimes, if you delay the hookset, the cobia will realize he just ate something unnatural and will blow the jig out of his mouth. Bait fishing is a little different. If you are, for instance, drifting a bait for a king and a cobia comes up, he may "mouth" the bait a little before inhaling it. Cobia have large mouths and can engulf a bait very quickly. When you see the bait disappear and the fish's mouth closes, set the hook! A dropback or freespool, such as is necessary with a king, is not as necessary with a cobia.

Cobia fight to the very end. I have only once seen one go belly up at the side of the pier or the boat. Sometimes, when you hook one from the pier, its first reaction is to charge the pier and try to go under the pilings. When this happens, you have to grab your spool and apply as much pressure as you dare to leverage the fish out from the pilings. Once you wrestle him out, if the fish turns out to go away from the pier, let him go. It is much better for the fish to tire itself out away from the pier rather than have him full of energy when you bring him to the gaff. When you are leading the cobia to the gaff, you want him on top of the water, not deep. If the fish approaches the pier and is deep in the water column, again you have to apply as much pressure as your tackle will allow to get him up to the surface. Once you have the fish straight up and down, try to get his head out of the water. Gulping air tires the cobia out and makes him a little more tame at the gaff.

As for baits, the best cobia baits are live eels, live catfish, pinfish, pigfish, alewives, herring and sardines. There is not much they won't eat. A catfish is my favorite bait because not much else will eat it. If you hook a fish on a catfish, most likely it is a cobia. They cannot resist them.

Good luck in your pursuit of this great gamefish. Hope you get one soon!

Sounds like a fish on Steroids

Light tackle + live bait + Cobia = A damned good time. Then you are tired.

Originally Posted by bodebum

Light tackle + live bait + Cobia = A damned good time. Then you are tired.

It also equals a lost fish and a whooped a$$ when you don't have enough lifting power to keep it out of the pilings.

Originally Posted by the original pier pest

It also equals a lost fish and a whooped a$$ when you don't have enough lifting power to keep it out of the pilings.

+1

50 lb. line and a rod and reel that will handle it is not too much on the pier.