Never before have I taken my first salt trip of a year later than April, that is until this year.
The demands of business ownership, being daddy for my 4 year old, and looking for a potential new home all have kept fishing trips on the back burner.
Those of you who know me fully appreciate not only do I constantly suffer from Econfina fever, but also cobia fever. With both reaching lethal levels this week, I called Bman Monday and asked if we could talk real estate offer on water versus land. Thankfully he was not only willing but eager to do so. Looking at both the solunar and wind forecasts, we set our sights on a early morning Wednesday launch out of Econfina.
Met up in Lloyd at 5:00am, and with crossed fingers we would be greeted by calm waters we made our way to the coast.
First good sign of the day, calm beyond our wildest dreams.
The good start had me biting at the bit to get on cobia, but due to the open grouper season and a slack tide pre-dawn launch I asked Barry to humor a different plan of attack than I’ve taken in the past.
Versus instantly running out to deeper hotspots, Barry and I stopped in a 15’ rocky area and started trolling stretches towards a distant 19’ spot. My goal involved more than simply catching grouper, as I wanted to record bottom readings from my Lowrance for future review. This all sounded good and well during our pre-fishing war room strategy meeting, but unfortunately we had not one single grouper bite during the scouting mission.
The only positive of the mission came when we reached our rocky end point in 19’ of water. Barry noticed a wake being pushed about 30’ in front of our bow and thinking it was a big mackerel, he threw a small chug bug to it on a rig that just as easily could have been used for catching small bass. Massive, massive, MASSIVE topwater gulping bite, and Barry yells, “IT’S A COBIA!” ABSOLUTELY the VERY FIRST midshore cast of the year off Marine's Dream and it’s a BIG cobia.
Barry couldn’t have fought the fish more perfectly. Had the darn beast on about 40 minutes or so, with us gasping at each and every run and turn of the reel wondering which would give first, the fish, his 20 pound line being pulled down towards rocks, or his small freshwater size chug bug. Again, Barry showed unbelievable finesse in keeping the 30 to 40 pound cobia on the line and slowly but surely he turned the tide against the beast... or at least it appeared so as the cobia came closer and closer to the boat.
Now for the drama... with the cobia scary big, we're both questioning gaff, boga, net... gaff, boga, net... gaff, boga, net? And having a big net we used to haul a dozen or so 20 to 30 pounders in last year, I made the call to go with the net, realizing it was going to be tough but hopefully doable. So the first good shot I get I go for it... but the cobia turns aggressively as the net touches him and versus getting his tail in first and working him in, the front of his massive head catches the rim of the net and I'm watching in slow motion as the tiny ALREADY BADLY BENT treble hooks catch the edge of the net... appreciating this AIN'T a good thing, I start sweeping the net under the body of the huge cobia to get as much as I can in... when... from the corner of my eye I see a PANIC STRICKEN Bman, with saucer plate eyes open, bull charging me and the cobia... I'm still trying to net the cobia but there's now a 250 pound man attached to it... I'm struggling to see the fish because, as God is my witness, Barry's upper body is out over the water trying to hug the fish and I've got @$$ crack in my face. Barry is screaming he's got the fish and sounds ecstatic about it... and then I hear a sick whimpering declaration, "He's gone!"
Ain't gonna lie folks, took us about 20 minutes or so to recover from the tragedy, but recover we did.We tried the same rocky area a while but lacking luck we decided to run out towards the Wakulla reef area. First drop on a good marked area... and... BARRY IS ON AGAIN! And this time, folks, he seals the deal!
Fish is SOOOOO close to the limit with a 33 1/4" fork that we decide to tag and release it so it can be caught another day. 
Semi-joking aside, we had talked of taking turns with bent over rods and since he had handled the first two bites, I thought I should get two consecutive catches too! 
Turns out it's a beautiful 25 pound cobia, so in the box it goes. 
By this time it's after 2:00pm and the forecasted hot solunar bite has dramatically slowed... we patiently waited for another cobia to show up, but after an hour or so gave up. We decided to drift over a good rocky area dragging pins for grouper before leaving and as we're drifting I SEE IT... actually THEM!... but amongst them is IT! A BEAST. In less than 2 seconds flat, I'm tossing a spro jig with a big white curly tail out about 3 feet in front of the boat to intersect the path of the cruising pack... and the BEAST ALONE charges the jig... and with Barry and I both watching in slow-motion mode, the hook is set and FOLKS, IT'S ON LIKE DONKEY KONG!
Just as with Barry's first hooked beast, it gives me all I've ever wanted and maybe a bit too much more...estimating it was a good 30 minute or so @$$ whooping, as the next morning I felt like I fought Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield... with my hands tied behind my back. We don't even whisper about using the net (though we DID use it to get the 25 pounder in with no trouble). Nope, Barry mans-up (with a bit of respectful fear on his face) and with a massive heave he drags the beast over the gunnel.
BOAT RECORD 40 pound slab! Couldn't even measure it on the boat as it instantly bottomed out my 35 pound boga (had to weigh it at home). So what does Barry do to help me celebrate my record catch? He tortures me for about 5 minutes taking about a hundred photos, asking me to slightly alter positioning with each.
And as a reward for anyone who suffered through the long read, here's a long video!
If for no other reason, worth watching to HEAR Bman's cobia wrasslin match! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pa69I56Ob8[/video]
