Cobia advice Econfina area please.

[NAvery]

I have never caught a cobia, so I know very little on how to target them. What is a couple of ways to rig for them? I would also like an option that my 6 year old boy can have the opportunity to land one. He struggles at times trying to work an artificial bait, so maybe a rig with a cork or something he doesn't have to manulipate much. Thanks in advance! Nathan Avery.

[FishWithChris]

I like to throw a pink spoon... (but really, have hooked up on them before with one)

You'll get some mixed responses on best methods, artificial vs live, reefs vs towers, etc...

Your best bet is to do a search within BBF and you'll have hours of solid reading to do on Cobia within the Big Bend and Forgotten Coast

(Click the hyperlink "search within BBF")

[woopty]

Find some good bottom structure...
Anchor up-current...
Chum...
Make noise...
Use the biggest pinfish ya got...
They'll find you.

woop

[Salty Gator]

Find some good bottom structure...
Anchor up-current...
Chum...
Make noise...
Use the biggest pinfish ya got...
They'll find you.

woop

This
I'd only add, put a pin on the bottom, free line one and put one on a cork. Also have a pitch rod ready with a jig, eel , or a good live bait. They are a great fish to catch. Pull like crazy and eat great. Good luck

[NAvery]

Thanks!

[SS-342]

Find some good bottom structure...
Anchor up-current...
Chum...
Make noise...
Use the biggest pinfish ya got...
They'll find you.

woop

This
I'd only add, put a pin on the bottom, free line one and put one on a cork. Also have a pitch rod ready with a jig, eel , or a good live bait. They are a great fish to catch. Pull like crazy and eat great. Good luck

Best quotes of the day! I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT.

THANKS

[neckmoe]

Does anyone around here sell eels?

[Salty Gator]

Does anyone around here sell eels?

I was thinking of an artificial eel. They do sell them around PC and Destin, but I've never seen them for sale around here.

[SS-342]

I caught my last one on a gold, cotton cordell red fin plug.

[countrycorners]

We caught one today off of Econfina with shrimp/jighead.
As a matter of fact everything we caught today was with a shrimp/jighead:
Redfish, mackrel, jack, catfish, etc

[DriftingSun]

Does anyone around here sell eels?

Rumor has it starting next weekend Scally Wag charters will be setting up near the bird rack out of St. Marks and will be offering up live pin fish as well as live eels, as available.

These are 2 good guys (Will and Anthony) trying to get ramped up, let's get out and support them so we'll have convenient access as wanted/needed.

[Capt Ron]

Does anyone around here sell eels?

I was thinking of an artificial eel. They do sell them around PC and Destin, but I've never seen them for sale around here.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Berkley- ... 6CQ_st%3Db

[silverking]

https://www.algagsfishinglures.com/coll ... hip-it-eel


Sold at Kevin's and Shields Marina in St. Marks. Also available on-line.

I like the natural (olive back/pearl belly), candy apple red and lime green on a 1/2- or 3/4-ounce Gag's jig head. I've had cobia spin in a circle to eat these lures.

[big bend gyrene]

Ditto what everyone's said with a few additional notes... structure, structure, structure, and just in case I didn't emphasize it enough, structure... and that applies whether 5', 10', 20', or 30' waters. They're cruising predators that like harassing bait, and when bait's thick it loves to congregate against structure thus drawing the cobes.

Don't need to go deep out of Econfina to find them... I've been targeting them for 10 years (caught over 100 / tagged approx 50 shorts) and the largest congregation I ever laid eyes on was circling a bird rack out of Econ in 6' of water. At least 15 were in a pack harassing bait. One of the biggest I've ever seen (60+ lbs) was cruising in about 8' of water with 3 other smaller (but still nice sized keepers) over rocky bottom out of Econfina. They're curious fish and will cruise within feet of your boat at times, and that's even if you're not chumming. That's one of the key reasons you're hearing folks talk about having a pitch rod setup with an eel jig. Allows you to quickly cast to sighted fish briefly surfacing near your boat.

If drifting the flats for trout, ALWAYS float a pin behind the boat. You'll likely hook lots of sharks for each cobe you catch, but YOU WILL eventually get lucky and tempt a cruising cobe. Again, ALWAYS keep a pin floating behind the boat.

Probably 90% of my catches have been made on pinfish, and of those most were on rigs being fished 2' or 3' up off the bottom. I also fish pins under floats and occasionally get cobe bites but more often sharks and kings on the top rig (but still fun, and sometime the sharks have cobes with them I can then cast to with the eel jig). About 10% of my catches have likely been made with eel jigs/topwater plugs, usually when sight casting but also occasionally when blind casting to known structure (such as pitched right up to a birdrack).

On the eel jig/topwater note, cobes also LOVE playing clean-up when bait balls are getting slammed on the flats by spanish macks, blues, jacks, ladyfish, etc... you see diving birds and bait balls getting pounded, try throwing the eel jig or a big topwater along the edge of the action and you'll occasionally catch cobes (but likely want to use wire leader in such cases to avoid costly mack cutoffs).

And since you said you've not caught one yet, be sure you feed the boy some wheaties if you're going to have him targeting cobes! If keeper length, you're talking a minimum of about 15 pounds, and y'all latch on to one 30 pounds or larger you may very well be talking a battle that last a half hour or so. They don't give up easy, and will make run after run when brought up boat side.... I don't think it's an exaggeration to say I've had some bigger fish make over a half-dozen runs before being landed.

Last note -- they'll ruin you on other fishing if you're not careful. I used to fish almost exclusively for trout and reds, but after landing a few cobia I have sacrificed bigger number fish days to sit on structure spots FOR HOURS just to snag a cobia or two for the day. Seems like a good trade off on days that bites are somewhat steady but not so good of a trade off when anchored over structure with zero action for hours.

[big bend gyrene]

And just because I'm always looking for an excuse to pick on Bman... one of the most fun days I've ever had on the water, largely due to the humor in watching him try and headlock a 40+ pound cobe.

He subsequently got even by costing me a 60 pounder that spooled me while I begged him repeatedly to pull anchor and chase, while he instead opted to fiddle around with a tangled two-dollar sabiki rig.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pa69I56Ob8[/video]