Where to find cobia
Hawk Channel patch reefs and the shallow wrecks, channel markers and buoys, and the ocean flats, where they ride on the backs of stingrays and manta rays. Also the deep wrecks and the Eagle when a school stacks up.
- Eagle wreck · Wrecks
- Hawk Channel patch reefs · Patch reefs
- Reef edge drop-off · Offshore
When to go
January to April is peak, when cooler water brings them shallow. Sunny days with light wind are best for sight-fishing; the fish move in the daylight and follow rays on the incoming tide.
Best window on the day: Daylight hours. Today's window and score are on the conditions page.
How to catch them
Idle the patch reefs and flats with a live pinfish, crab or pilchard ready on a spinning rod and cast ahead of any fish you see; a bucktail jig gets a reaction bite from a cruising cobia. Over wrecks, drop a live bait or jig to the marks. Gaff only a fish you mean to keep and keep it clear of the deck until it settles.
Bait & tackle
- Bait
- Live pinfish, grunts, blue crabs or small eels; dead baits in a chum slick
- Lures
- 2–4 oz bucktail jigs with a soft-plastic tail; large eel imitations
- Tackle
- 7 ft medium-heavy spinning rod, 6000–8000 reel, 30–50 lb braid
- Rig
- 3–4 ft of 50–60 lb fluorocarbon; 6/0–8/0 circle hook
Tips for your level
- Look for rays: a cobia often rides just above or behind a big stingray on the flats.
- Cast a few feet ahead of the fish and let it find the bait; a jig twitched in front of it usually draws a follow and a bite.
- A cobia in the boat thrashes hard enough to break rods; let the crew handle it.
Keeping one
Excellent: firm, white and steak-like. One cobia feeds a family.
Keep only what you will eat, within the limit, and release the rest in the water where you can.
Questions anglers ask
- What do cobia look like in the water?
- A long brown fish with a flat head that is easy to mistake for a shark or a remora until it turns and you see the white belly and the pectoral fins.