1. In June and later the fish seem to respond to chum. {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? Both the lure and the fish will disappear from view as they go deep, but you’ll know the fish has hit when you feel a bump on the line. For some reason cobia seem to be attracted to lures heading straight down, and will often chase them. Back to top. jirrera. You can also catch cobia while trolling for king mackerel, and keeping your bait close to the bottom with cut, or live bait near reefs, inlets and shipwrecks. Annapolis, MD 21403 The best way to catch cobia is by using sight casting with bucktails as they move along the East Coast. You may have to tease them into striking—and the most effective way to do so is to toss out a live bait. Eels rate high on the list, as do live spot or mullet. Double-Bonus Cobia Tip: These fish will sometimes allow themselves to be drawn right up to the boat rather quickly, and then go into a tug-of-war holding pattern just outside of gaffing range. With startling frequency, the cobia will shoot out from underneath the boat to attack. If you pay attention to our Way South Chesapeake & VA reports, you'll know when the cobia show up in Virginia’s waters. Similarly, baited lines should be set throughout the water column. Lots of flags flappin’ today! Best Time to Fish for Cobia The best time to fish for Cobia if you are sight fishing is when the sun is at its brightest / highest. The 580G Green Mirrior is no different and sports a copper glass lens. The Chesapeake Bay holds one of the most world-class cobia fisheries and on this day it did not disappoint when I invited my friend fishing for giant cobia. The best part about it is the fact that most of the cobia are being caught sight casting. Bake at 375-degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the coating turns brown. But there’s one hitch, especially in the lower reaches of the Chesapeake and along the coast: deep lines will often be eaten by sharks. Quite often you can cast plugs, bucktails, jigs, and spoons to cobia on the surface, and the fish will either swim lethargically towards the lure then turn away or ignore it entirely. The picture below is the Hang On with some red drum and cobia they caught sight casting. © 2020 Rudow's FishTalk LLC. Inshore boats had good catches of red drum, good spanish mackerel and some cobia. This is far more important than one would guess, because the difference in your ability to spot fish with five to 10 feet … Sight-fishing is a favorite for me, because it provides the feel of a real hunt… but on the water, not on land. fbq('track', 'PageView'); Last season we saw a terrific cobia bite in the lower and lower-middle Chesapeake Bay, and truth be told, many seasons there’s a good cobia bite in the Chesapeake’s southern reaches—as well as inshore along the DelMarVa coast. You can commonly get a double hook-up by repeatedly tossing a bait or lure in front of the second, un-hooked fish, as the one on the line is brought close to the boat. PO Box 570 Falmouth, MA 02541 1 (888) 654 4649 . 410.216.9309 When a fish is spotted, carefully approach the cobia as quietly as possible, until you get within easy casting distance. Hogy Lure Company. This was my first time sight casting at cobia and it was epic!! About Us Contact Us. Marty Moore of Top Water Charters. Pictured below is Bite Me with a citation dolphin. 3. You can watch this happen in the first 30 seconds of our Okuma Azores Z80 S fishing reel review video; that fish was offered the jig at least four or five times, before it turned and ate it. Sight Fishing for Cobia. Skip To Navigation; Skip To Content; Skip To Footer; Sign in. It is important to know that cobia is a very … There are variety of baits that can be used to seduce a Cobia, there favorite being eels. It was good dolphin fishing, with some wahoo and yellowfin tuna mixed in. Sight Casting for Cobia. Check out this short video with three general cobia fishing tips, before you move on to sight fishing and chumming tips. This video is a PSA that you do not need a $100,000 cobia boat to catch these fish when you can sight cast these cobia from a tiny boat. I fished cobia in Virginia Beach today as Cape Cod Canal is slow. Give this a shot at least five or six times before landing the hooked fish. The fish migrate to find a preferred water temperature, and can be found overwintering in south Florida. It is such a different game than fly fishing them in the chum slick. It has humbled me. Ben Shepard says. So long as the die-offs haven’t been sitting in the sun all day they will work fine, and the seafood stores or roadside crab stands are usually happy to give you a full bushel basket for an extremely reduced price. Even though the bait or lure may be rejected several times, the cobia sometimes seem to get aggravated or aggressive after multiple presentations. 2. One of the most productive ways to fish for cobia is by sight casting soft plastics and other lures on cobias sitting on manta rays or sharks. Erik Anderson in the Florida panhandle to talk about cobia. Solve this problem by approaching the manager of your local seafood store, and ask if they’ll sell you their die-offs. In the fall, the cycle starts over when the fish begin to migrate down as cool weather sets i… When casting your cobia lures out when sight fishing, aim to land your lure directly in front of where they are swimming. The Cobia can be spotted as they travel in shallow water flats, around pilings, navigational markers, buoys and anchored boats. Costa made its name by designing what they … Put a live bait or two into the mix, along with your cut baits. The early cobia season as a rule they will not respond to chum—the first big push of cob have one thing on their mind and that is getting to the Chesapeake Bay for their spawn. Not only are cobia fun to catch but they highly regarded as premium table fare. You’ll need about two cups to cover four half-pound fillets or steaks. Cobia Jigging Lures. Cobia come into the Chesapeake Bay in vast schools in late May and early June. Sight-casting for cobia might be the simplest fishing experience ever conceived. Although it’s the most challenging way to pursue cobia, there’s no doubt that sight fishing is the most exciting way to catch them. Mix blue cheese salad dressing and mayonnaise in a 50-50 ratio. Serious cobia chummers will set chum both at the surface, and deep in a weighted chum pot. In this Florida Sportsman seminar, FS Editor David Conway joins Capt. When looking for these fish on the surface it is difficult to see them early in the morning and in the evening. [email protected] If you spot cobia very close to your boat and they suddenly disappear, don’t give up hope—these fish tend not to be afraid of boats, and will often swim right underneath them for a bit of shade. I anchor up and throw out a couple chum blocks, cobia are very quick to respond to chum. Laks: Most of the sight casting for cobia from Jupiter south is done around big sharks. n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; Capt. I can spot fish from a distance and easily see them react to presentations. Best chances to catch them from the surf are during the 3 days before and 3 days after the full moon in April and May. I typically like to locate a marker or structure that I know cobia frequently visit. I look for Cobia singles or groups and most of the time Cobia in early summer are swimming north. Tue Jun 07, 2016 5:17 am. The lower the sun is on the horizon the more glare will be put onto the surface of the water. How To Videos; Build … Beneath the Cobia's striking cobalt-blue exterior you'll find a spinning rod with the guts to take on hard-fighting saltwater fish. Updating their product offerings to accommodate the needs of local anglers even further, Blue Water Candy Lures has a new line of Cobia Jigs on the market designed to surpass the performance of the classic bucktail when sight-casting to cobia, bull red drum, and other powerful oceanic predators. Rigging for these fish is easy too. 2. Marty Sight fishing for Cobia is one if the most productive fishing methods whether you are using artificial baits or lures. There were 8 sailfish releases and 2 blue marlin. Donnie Davis252-202-5565https://www.doacharters.com/book-now/@doacharters#cobiafishing #saltwaterfishing #fishing #cobia #sightcasting #howtofish When this happens, don’t be in any hurry to stick the fish. Cobia can be found year-round in some areas, but are generally migratory. Fly-Fishing Tactics for Cobia. They offer many different lens colors, but this one is designed for high contrast and with a VLT of 10% they are perfect for bright sunny days of sight casting. Once hooked, cobia can have long and powerful runs. Two to three ounce bucktails dressed with twister tails, and large plastics such as BKDs, Bass Assassins, or Fin-S lures rigged on a one ounce leadhead, are often killers in this situation. We got a limit of three early in the morning. This was filmed June 1st, 2018 - the first day of open cobia season in Virginia waters. Posts: 102 Location: newport/atlantic beach. Spot are excellent for this, and should either be allowed to swim near the surface free of weight or be suspended beneath a float or balloon. Cobia will also go after similar types of jigs you may be familiar with from jigging for snook. Two factors in particular make cobia casting so unique and thrilling: cobia get big, as in 25- to 70 pounds (maybe “huge” is a better word), and anglers who know where to look can see cobia, which provides thrilling sight-casting action! Instead, slap the water’s surface with a gaff, tap the fish’s tail with the tip of another rod, or otherwise aggravate it into running, to tire it. if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); Here are the basics to sight casting to Cobia whether you are using a bucktail or live bait. Sight Casting Strategies and Techniques for Cobia - YouTube Back to top. You may have to tease them into striking—and the most effective way to do so is to toss out a live bait. Posts: 11 Location: Whiskey Creek . msn back to msn home sports. 2. You can also catch cobia while trolling for king mackerel, and keeping your bait close to the bottom with cut, or live bait near reefs, inlets and shipwrecks. Cobia are mostly caught by sight-casting from the surf, but you can get them bottom fishing the surf with eels. Cobia on the move can become boat-shy after being repeatedly bombarded by jigs and baits from dozens of boats, and the farther you can make an accurate cast the better chance you have of getting the fish to bite. North Carolina is a popular fishing destination for cobia by fishermen who fish along the bottom with bait. Few things get my blood pumping like watching a 60 lb cobia inhale a jig only yard from the boat. However, you may lose a few lures as they often hook the host and not the intended fish. It’s like having a tree stand in my boat. On these nights, when the full moon is out, the squid come to the beach to spawn (or at least that is what i think they do). From a boat either cast or bait . Similarly, as the cobia sight-fishery off North Carolina has exploded in recent years, these days you’ll see many boats sporting towers and elevated platforms. Sight-fishing for cobia had its genesis, at least in terms of boat design, in the northern Gulf of Mexico, where many boats bear towers and elevated casting platforms. Tue Jun 07, 2016 4:53 am. Capt. Covering the basics of how to successfully sight cast to cobia, featuring Capt. You can’t really prevent this, just make sure you come prepared with plenty of extra hooks and leader. BIG FISH on LIGHT TACKLE The daily fishing reports from Capt. Throw the bait well beyond the cobe and retrieve it until it’s about 10’ or 12’ in front of the fish, then freespool the reel and … 3. Chumming for Cobia is a productive tactic for this part of the season. Donnie Davis of DOA Charters out of Oregon Inlet. Subscribe for more free fishing tips: https://bit.ly/3dhXuz2 Become a Fish Post Podcast Patron:https://www.patreon.com/FishermansPost Share this video with a fishing friend:https://youtu.be/ieYK2VUUPcs Listen to the podcast:Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7IZ7aOO...✅ Let's connect:Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FishPostInstagram – https://www.instagram.com/fishermans....Twitter – https://twitter.com/FishPoster✅ For business inquiries contact: billy@fishermanspost.com Book Capt. powered by Microsoft News. Sight fishing for cobia is hard no way around it. Last spring, I upgraded my boat Fly Girl, adding an elevated tower with steering and throttle controls, in hopes of becoming a better cobia hunter. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) This species is commonly targeted in our region in one of two ways: sight casting to them, and chumming. 3. 612 Third Street, Suite 3C Slather the fish in the mix, being sure to cover it 100-percent, as thickly as possible. Then bait your hooks with half a peeler or soft crab. t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; Two outfits cover all your cobia needs: a heavy-action spinning rod with a stiff tip for casting a bucktail, and a lighter stick with a slower bend to toss an eel. s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', Setting up for cobia at night can be very rewarding, although you lose the excitement of sight casting, you still have the excitement of anticipation. Sight fishing does require a boat with an elevated spotting station, so you can see down into the water and through the sun’s glare. Throw the bait well beyond the cobe and retrieve it until it’s about 10’ or 12’ in front of the fish, then freespool the reel and live-line it. Mike Hogan and Capt. The best way to catch cobia is by using sight casting with bucktails as they move along the East Coast. Bonus Cobia Tip: You’ll often spot cobia in pairs, and these pairs usually stick close by each other even when one of the fish gets hooked. Resources. At some points, they may come in quickly before going on another powerful run. Categories. fbq('init', '2045670448804120'); “When you see one cruise by, the hardest part is controlling your emotions and making the right cast.” Freeman, a fishing guide at Brays Island Plantation, grew up on these creeks and he’s talking about sight fishing for cobia—an addictive experience that is unique to this pocket of the Lowcountry. Cobia love crustaceans, and a mesh bag filled with crushed blue crabs is an excellent chum-enhancer. Cobia are actually bottom feeders, and those lazing about near the surface often aren’t in a feeding mood. 1. Retrieve your lure like a wounded baitfish; give the lure quick jerks while reeling it in. Sight casting bucktails, Bait and wait, Live bait, From a boat, Pier, surf. One tactic that will sometimes get them to strike is to cast a jig five or 10 feet in front of the fish and allow your lure to free-fall. Ten Tips For Casting To Cobia On Manta Rays Mar 06, 2018. n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; "Just drive around all day and look for fish," Virginia Capt. Eels rate high on the list, as do live spot or mullet. Plus, news and notes from Capt. Cobia take a long time to wear down, and gaffing them when they are green is a big mistake—they’ll go crazy in the boat, slamming gear and people all over the cockpit. eyefish. Bluefin Tuna; Bluemax Trolling Heads; Cobia; Florida; Hogy TV; Mahi Mahi; Pro Tails; Trolling; Hogy Lure Company PO Box 570 Falmouth, MA 02541 info@hogylures.com 1 (888) 654 4649 Customer Service. How to Catch Cobia Sight Fishing. The Offshore Angler™ Ocean Master® Cobia Spinning Rod also has the sensitivity you crave in a serious standup rod. 1. Cobia are actually bottom feeders, and those lazing about near the surface often aren’t in a feeding mood. The challenge with that kind of fishing is keeping a hooked cobia away from the shark so that it does not get eaten. What are some of the best fishing techniques you use when fishing for cobia around manta rays? In the spring, the fish move north to their summer grounds the Panhandle on the west coast, and from northeast Florida up to North Carolina or higher on the east coast. North Carolina is a popular fishing destination for cobia by fishermen who fish along the bottom with bait. Sunny, light winds and clear waters are best for this, add bait schools like mullet, menhaden or green shad up and down the beach; even better! It is strictly sight casting. Of course, purchasing dozen of crabs as chum would be expensive. 1. When close-by cobia disappear, deploy baits or lures right next to the boat for several minutes. From my experience, the majority of the fish enter the bay deep in the water column and primarily bottom feed, however, some Cobia are caught sight casting as well during this time.