bait for cobia

[wft]

going after cobia off shelman bluff what kind of bait

[cairobass]

8'' to 10'' gulp eel black or motoroil

[BayGator]

I caught all mine this year on a white or pink bucktail jig with a curly tail grub on it. Good luck!

[FMI]

I'm a Hogy fan, the bigger the better. The 10" to the 18" depending on your rod and tackle should work great.

[Flint River Pirate]

We have caught some BIG BOYS on pinfish!

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[big bend gyrene]

I'm with Flint River Pirate... catch some nice sized pins and you'll be in good shape. Pins are the main bait me and my buddy use though we do keep an eel immitation on a big jig head at the ready to cast at followers chasing hooked cobes.

Easiest way to get bigger pins is to catch them in a bit deeper water off the shallow flats. We do best in about 8 to 10 feet this time of year, using sabiki or a single small hook tipped with the smallest piece of gulp you can get on the hook. Can load up a live well pretty darn fast using this method.

[big bend gyrene]

WFT, should add I'm fishing out of St. Marks/Econ area... not 100% sure where Shellman Bluff is (GA?). If pins prove tough to get, other live hand sized baitfish will do the trick as will any eel immitation. They'll take dead frozen bait fish too but I prefer live. Would sure think crabs would be good too if you can find them. Almost every single one I've caught has crabs in their stomachs -- God put those spiny crushers in the back of their mouths for a good reason.

[silverking]

They don't call 'em crab crunchers for nothing.

I've had my best luck with bucktail jigs tipped with curly tails also, but I like chartreuse or it's no use.

[Joe]

For live bait - I second a lil' live Blue Crab freelined up current from their living room. I am with Silver King on the Chartreuse Jig casting.

Good Luck!

[RHTFISH]

We have caught some BIG BOYS on pinfish!

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Second that neighbor! More fun I think because the expectation of something larger is there with a nice pin swimming around.
However, my last three have come on 1/16 jighead w/ 3" Gulpses! They can put a bend in that UL jig rod!

[KYFRED]

OK, Newbie question. How do you "Target" cobia? Is there bottom, depth, marker bouy? Somthign to look for to pattern? I am gonna be at SGI for 10 days starting Thursday and would love to tangle with one. Pinfish traps are already set and baited and a few crab traps as well.

[Joe]

In my experience Cobia like anything to hang around that is large. Turtles, Rays, Marker Bouys, Wrecks, Large Rubble etc. I caught a Cobia over top of rubble last week that was surfacing each time a turtle the size of a VW was coming up for a breath. I am speculating here but I think early in the run the Cobia are first to show up a little offshore and show up in the flats around mid june more often. Unless of course Doc has been sticking them this year already on the Gulps.

[big bend gyrene]

In my experience Cobia like anything to hang around that is large. Turtles, Rays, Marker Bouys, Wrecks, Large Rubble etc.

What Joe said.

KY Fred, channel markers, bird racks, wrecks (structure of any size) draw them. Sometimes we get them on the first cast out, but don't let a slow period fool you... they prowl on the hunt and you might go hours without a bite only to have 5 or 6 show up at one time. Inshore I have caught the bulk using a pin under a cajun thunder but offshore get more hookups sinking the pin down between the middle and bottom of the water column. Still will often float a pin behind the boat while anchored over offshore structure but spanish/kings hit the pins at top more often, while grouper often will snag the pins fished near the bottom -- not that I ever complain at the grouper bite!

[KYFRED]

We've floated pinfish when grouper fishing and never had a whole lot of luck with cobia, but we seem to fish more hard bottom than structure. We will try channel markers in the bay next week and see what turns up. I hope to have a fun report for all.

[spraywash]

Sounds funny, but the best baits I've ever found are 1) 4-7" catfish with the spines cut off and 2) a small "dollar" sized blue crab if you can find them.



Its hard to "target" cobia, unness you've got a tuna towers and drive around looking for them. Try pitching to every structure you come to, and always keep a cobia rod & jig rigged up and ready incase you spot some while fishing the flats.