Saturday 6/10 bonus fish

[fishfalcon]

Have not had a chance to fish much with my son's graduation and all the events that surrounded that event, but had a chance to go with him yesterday. I managed to get him out of the house around 8 am and we drove down to the coast. We had a great conversation and he talked about all of the trips we had taken together ranging from our Philmont trek to when he killed his first buck out in Texas. It was a little bittersweet as it is obvious a chapter in our lives is closing, but we agreed we hoped we would make another memory today. It was windier and rougher than we expected and a little overcast. We moved around quite a bit, but managed to find a few trout and a Spanish. Most of our fish were in 3-6 feet of water and cleaner water was better. We were meeting Joe and his son for lunch and to fish the afternoon so we decided to head in. We decided to check out a few pieces of structure on the way in where we had seen cobia before. First stop had no one home. Second spot had a big grass mat next to it and looked empty also. We were about to leave when my son said there he is. He was a big old cobia that looked like a tank in the water. We eased past the spot and got our act together. Austin got out the big rod and cranked down the drag as we reviewed our strategy. We got up current of the fish and Austin flung the pinfish out from the grass. A minute passed and then down when the cork. Austin set the hook and said that is him and the fish started taking drag heading for home. I slammed the boat in reverse and we managed to keep him out of the structure by about 3 feet. I took the boat out of gear and watched Austin work the big fish. He did great and we kept debating net or gaff. He finally got the fish close and I tried to net him. He laughed at that and broke it at the handle. Plan B was the gaff. I have had it for years, but never used it. Austin got the fish boatside and I came behind the line and lifted the fish into the boat. Awesome! but he was still fighting mad. I used the priest (several times) and finally we had our trophy. Big hug and several pictures. We made our memory. Fish was 45" to the fork and heavy. Big shout out to Bill Falconer of Falconer Custom rods who made the whipping stick. Pictures to follow.

[fishfalcon]

Question for BBG Woopty and you other cobia fishermen. Going to eat the fish tonight with friends. Grill it and serve with lemon butter?

[Hit-n-Miss]

Very nice. Great fish.


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[Redbelly]

Nice!!

[geofish]

Great fish! Awesome father-son day, memories for a lifetime.

[Salty Gator]

Great fish. Congratulations. Don't forget the garlic to go with than butter and lemon. The tail meat smokes up nicely for dip if y'all like that.

[Price3275]

Man that is awesome right there! Good day!

[FTReelty]

Great memories, great story, one of my favorites on the grill! keep going as much as you can this summer-youre going to miss him!

[saltycrab]

Good to see you and Austin having a good time.

Have missed seeing him play at Church.

[big bend gyrene]

NICE cobe!

Sorry didn't see the question earlier -- grilling it and serving with lemon butter is great! Cobia's really good cooked multiple ways / most any style. One thing I do each and every time I clean one is to cut the bulk of the bloodline out as I'm not a fan of the fishier taste it can contribute. And as you likely found, though the meat on such a big fish is beautiful the blood line is also fairly sizable on the bigger fish.

Curious to know how you cooked it and how you liked it. Congrats again!

[fishfalcon]

Thanks BBG. I cut all the color off the filets beforehand. I then cut the filets into steaks about 1.5" thick, rubbed them with olive oil, garlic salt and lemon pepper and cooked them 2 minutes a side on a 425 degree grill. Drizzled with lemon butter. The crew ate all I cooked. Texture is a lot like tuna. My wife said I should catch more cobia!