Sounded like the PERFECT excuse to kick off another cobia run after the 2010 successful cobia trip streak painfully ended one dadgum trip shy of double digits, and ending at that due to a monster cobe breaking a gamakatsu hook at the boat…
Met Joe (Ranaman), Celeste, son Josh, and my buddy Paul (aka Sharkman) at the ramp just as the sun was peeking up and we ran out of Ecky for bait. We went deeper for bait than we normally do and while the action was slower than in our normal 6’ to 10’ spots, we caught blue runners and some really big grunts in 15’ of water. Felt VERY good about our chances with the good bait on hand so with the tide just leaving slack raced offshore to hit some prime spots.
Aren’t at spot #1 any more than 30 minutes before a rod starts singing and it’s ain't no easy-listening music but some hard-rock singing! Ranaman is by the rod so he grabs it just to cut off the baitrunner and set the hook and less than a second after holding it tries to give it to Celeste. He’s done no more than a hookset and she’s saying she’s not going to take his hooked fish!
After maybe 10 seconds of
, I quickly chime in to tell them both that we need the cobia off the coral bottom and that the rod/reel is one of mine and not Joe's so it really belongs to whomever wants it! Begrudgingly, Celeste takes it and within seconds any doubt about who deserves total credit for the fish is gone… it’s an obvious beast on the line and Celeste has to use perfect fishing form to fight it on a light teramar rod. I honestly think Joe, Paul, or I might have lost the fish trying to use too much testosterone to quickly hoss the beast in, but Celeste kept her wits and we quickly pulled anchor to help buy back some line after the initial run started looking a bit scary with the cobe showing no signs of stopping. Didn’t clock the fight but best guess is it lasted 20 to 30 minutes! Celeste showed absolute patience as the cobia maintained a rock solid position about 15’ below us and she waited until it had lost just enough strength to bring it up for a quick boga grab by Joe. Result? In less than an hour fishing, Celeste managed to match the boat record of 35 pounds, equaling one I caught late last year, and this after Paul and I have boated close to 40 in Marine’s Dream since hitting midshore and offshore spots after acquiring Marine’s Dream in 2005! 
Wish I could say I showed Joe and the family mad action all day but things really quieted down once the tide started moving. We moved off my private cobia number and visited a rather public one as the tide hit peak flow but only managed to put Josh on a painfully 1” short 15 pounder! Did catch a few short gags too, but not finding keeper size cobes at the public spot we pulled in anchor and headed north as the tide slackened and hit a shallower number. Result? Paul bests his 28 pound fish, also caught in 2010 off Marine’s Dream, with a 29 pounder!
Just hope for Joe and Celeste’s sake that the old saying about folks remembering how things start and end while forgetting the middle proves true as a fairly quiet day on the water had big excitement at the beginning and end! Just two keepers aboard, but approaching 70lbs of meat!
Got me super excited to get back out there and extend the 2011 streak of 1 successful cobe trip. Really wish I could make the double digit mark this year but honestly don’t see that many trips happening. Even if I don’t, it’s all good as this trip was a great one. Got to spend time with a new friend found on the board and to provide what hopefully will be a good memory or two. 
And just to help with the memory part, here’s a highlight video of the fights... may just be me, but I think the song is dang near a perfect fit! 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmchzAIkljk[/video]
Got to admit, though, after I finished cleaning the boat I was right there with him. 
And to Sharkman's point, think we picked up more good info from y'all than vice versa. Loved how we matched the hatch when the bait was so thick... knew that was the smart thing to do before the trip, but we haven't taken the time in the past to use sabikis offshore if we already had some bait in the boat. Will definitely be catching some more greenbacks in the future!
