Doc's Perspective On Cobia Fishing
Steamy ninety-degree days and a scorching mid-day sun are a clear signal that the peak of the fishing season along the Mississippi Gulf Coast has sure 'nough arrived. While front beach, pier and jetty fishermen must look to the wee hours of the morning to do battle with the likes of perennial favorites - red drum and spotted seatrout, offshore fishing is dominated by mid-day action with migratory pelagic species like Spanish mackerel, jack crevalle and everyone's number one heavyweight contender - the cobia.
Whether you know them as ling, cabio, lemonfish, as the locals call them, or Rachycentrum canadum, as they are scientifically termed, cobia are clearly the dominant glamour species among the many offshore offerings this time of the year. And for good reason. At 70, 80, 90 or even 100 pounds or more, these big bruisers can provide some of the most exciting, rod-bending, tackle-busting, nerve-wracking action around.
Dark brown, with a single dorsal fin, and frequently seen near the surface of the water, large cobia are easily mistaken for sharks in the water by the untrained eye. In fact, cobia are oftentimes found in association with sharks, manta rays and other large fish that cast a significant shadow. Such is their strong affinity for the shade.
Cobia season officially gets underway in the early spring with the first sighting of a cobe's hulking mass off that area known as the Horn Island Bar or any one of the more distant oil and gas structures. But because of unpredictable weather early on, catches of these first arrivals can be spotty. As weather conditions begin to stabilize and the fish continue their movement into the waters off the state's barrier islands and later on even into the Sound, expectations of catching a big, muscle-bound cobe rise with the mercury. Still, there are plenty of local cobia enthusiasts that, after a long winter layoff from fishing, are eager to pit their skills against one of these early season fish.
Weather conditions notwithstanding, cobia tournaments abound along the northern Gulf during the early part of the fishing year for it is now that some of the season's largest fish will be taken. The 8th Annual Gorenflo's Cobia Tournament, Mississippi's sole cobia-only contest is usually held the last weekend in April; and it draws serious cobia fishermen from all along the coast.
By midsummer, virtually every can, buoy, daymarker or other navigational structure within the Sound will host a small population of resident lemonfish; and the rockpiles on both East and West Ship Islands will attract schools of smaller fish as well. And there are literally hundreds of such structures along the Intracoastal Waterway from Florida to Texas for fishermen to explore. Even flotsam and jetsam and rafts of sargassum or other seaweed that casts a significant shadow can provide a temporary holding area for lemonfish. But anchored-up shrimp boats are among the most productive structures of all.
A shade-loving species by nature, the cobia actively seeks out such structures to set up housekeeping for a spell. It is that behavior too that makes this species a popular one with the fisherman. As everyone knows, finding the fish is oftentimes half the battle; and locating cobia in midsummer is truly child's play...
If locating the fish is easy, catching them is quite another story. A naturally curious fish, the cobia cannot resist inspecting anything that comes within close proximity of his shadowy realm; and it is common to have a big lemonfish swim right up to the boat to investigate. Even more commonly, cobia are notorious for ushering a plug all the way back to the boat with casual disinterest. Though these fish are not easily fooled into striking an artificial bait, they can be angered into hitting a bait that they would otherwise just ignore. Slapping the water with a paddle is one technique that often will rouse a nearby cobia into action. And cutting figure eights in the water with a big plug right at the boat will often elicit a strike from a follower too.
Once a fish is hooked, the battle quickly turns into a tug-of-war involving three players -you, the cobia, and the nearby structure. If you haven't already figured this out, it is a game in which you are outnumbered two to one. The structure, you see, is clearly on the side of the fish. If you let the structure get between you and the fish, the game is over; and since both you and the fish are moving and the structure is stationary, such a tug-of-war is much more than the ordinary give and take that you expect when hooking a big fish.
Some time ago, I had the occasion to venture out into the sound in search of saltwater specimens for the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks' Wildlife Heritage Museum in Jackson. Mike Stegall, head aquarist for the museum, had decided that a saltwater display would be make an interesting addition attraction; and he was eager to get started by collecting a variety of specimens. Tops on his list was a small cobia in the five to ten-pound class.
Our 32-foot Lafitte skiff nudged grudgingly forward against the gentle, but powerful rollers that pushed in out of the south as everyone aboard strained to see what the dark shallows around the daymarker might hold. Rods at the ready, fishing buddy Mike Buchanan and I were poised on the bow to cast our offerings at any likely candidates. Just a few feet from the barnacle-encrusted structure now, we would catch a glimpse of two hulking long shadows right up against the buoy. Like a couple of submerged logs in the water, they showed little movement to betray their presence.
I was the first to cast. A red and white floater - a Norm Bait - with a quarter ounce chartreuse jig trailer is tied to the end of my line. Productive with the likes of trout, reds and bluefish earlier that morning, the Norm Bait was a sure- fire winner for me; and I had no inclination to change baits. Buck too stuck with a red and white 52-M-11 Mirrolure that had made an equally impressive showing hours before.
Six and a half-foot graphite rods and Ambassadeur reels spooled with twelve- pound-test monofilament made up our lightweight arsenal. No match for a big lemonfish, these lightweight rigs are perfectly suited for the smaller fish that we would likely encounter in the Sound. Though current state law requires that all cobia under a thirty-three-inch fork length be released, that day we were in the market for much smaller aquarium specimens.
The big Norm-Bait hit the water with a splat just inches in front of the buoy, its chartreuse trailer fluttering tantalizingly downward. Right off, my plug disappeared in an explosion of green water as one of the shadows streaked out to greet it. Seconds later, Buck's plug too was snatched rudely beneath the depths by the fish's companion. The hot, mid-day air was filled with a fine, cooling mist as line spewed from both reels. As cobia go, fish in the ten-pound class, like these, are mere babes; but even these little fellows are formidable opponents on light tackle. My rod was bent into a tight arc by the surging fish as it made repeated attempts to reach the safety of the buoy's shadows where a mere touch with the barnacles would mean instant freedom. Lucky for me though, the drag washers on my Ambassadeur would take their toll as they grudgingly gave line; and in several minutes, I would bring the feisty lemonfish to net. Moments later, Buck would make it a double at the boat.
"Did you see the fish that were following these guys in", he asked? Sure enough, there were at least half-a-dozen other cobia that flashed as they appeared to urge on their hooked buddies all the way to the boat. Releasing the first fish, we were quick to get out baits back into the water. Just like before, both rods bent double almost simultaneously under the weight of another pair of good fish. "Is this fun, or what"? We could hardly restrain ourselves as we caught one fish right after the other. And when the action at buoy 67 slowed to a halt, we had at least twenty or thirty other markers left to check out. By day's end we had managed to catch a variety of saltwater fish for the new aquarium display at the museum, including a handsome pair of juvenile cobia. Even now, the small cobia that we had caught that summer day entertain visitors to the Wildlife Heritage Museum where they have since grown to much more formidable proportions.
That day, we would catch no larger fish; but that does not go to say that there aren't plenty of record-class cobia available to Mississippi fishermen. The Mississippi state record fish has topped the 100-pound mark for a number of years now, and there are quite a few fish in the 80 and even 90-pound-classes taken each season. Charter boat captains from Mexico Beach, Florida to Gulfport, Mississippi report their highest lemonfish catches from late March to about the first of May when the fish migrate very close to the beach as they continue their movement in a predominantly westerly direction. Creel survey data, individual catch reports and tournament records also show that these fish can be taken all summer long and even into the early fall off Mississippi waters.
Though cobia can certainly be taken using light tackle and artificial baits, most dedicated to this sport prefer to fish using natural baits and tackle with substantially more backbone. A live seacatfish either free-lined or fished beneath a float is among the most popular baits used by these specialists. Live white trout, pinfish, shrimp eels or other small baitfish will also whet the lemonfish appetite. The usual terminal rig for natural bait fishermen in the know includes a number 5 to 7/0 hook attached to a heavy monofilament shock leader. A feather jig sweetened with a piece of squid is also a good alternative for those that can't quite decide between natural and artificial baits.
While typical trout and redfish casting outfits or equivalently-sized spinning outfits are suitable for smaller lemonfish, heavier gear is in order for the big boys. Penn Internationals or Senators spooled with fifty to eighty-pound-test monofilament are de rigeur for wrestling muscular lemonfish to the boat. For the purists that prefer to fool the big fish with artificials, feather jigs are among the top-producing baits. Large topwater and subsurface plugs like Mirrolures, Zara Spooks and such are also quite effective.
Increasingly popular among Gulf Coast fishermen is the challenge of tackling a big cobia on the fly rod. Folks interested in this approach will find ten-weight rods to be ideal for doing battle with one of these gamesters. Any of the floating/diving flies like the Dahlberg Saltwater Diver would be a good bet for taking cobia, and a standard saltwater popper would also be a sound choice. For deep-running offerings, Blanton's Whistler series also makes an effective cobia enticer. Hot-pink, chartreuse, and the universal favorite red and white color combinations are all good choices when fishing the green waters of Mississippi Sound for cobia.
Regardless of the bait a fisherman might prefer to use, chumming can significantly increase one's chances of attracting and catching one of these fish.
Gulfport's Bert Jones Launch is one of the best staging areas for anyone interested in prospecting the navigational buoys in Mississippi Sound for cobia this time of the year. Heading due south from the mouth of the Gulfport Small Craft Harbor, fishermen will find a steady, regularly spaced supply of these structures all the way to Ship Island Pass. Half-way out, the Gulfport Ship Channel intersects with the Intracoastal Waterway, and this East-West channel provides yet another source of potential cobia hotspots. Of course fishermen can put in at the Biloxi, Long Beach or Pass Christian Small Craft Harbors as well. A quick run south will have them within casting distance of the nearest day marker and whatever surprises its shadows might bring...
Cobia Research Update
Is there a single stock of Rachycentrum canadum in the Gulf and Atlantic,
or are there two distinct groups? Are there smaller groups with a common
gene pool? These are just some of the questions that Sea-Grant-supported
researcher Jim Franks of the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory has been asking.
Equally at home sectioning cobia otoliths on a saw, talking to a group
of students about his research or winching a big cobia to the boat with
a Penn Senator, Jim has committed much of his life to the study of this
magnificent species and approaches his work with total dedication.
Initially funded through a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Jim's project first got underway in 1988. Then, the major focus was on evaluating the condition of cobia populations within state waters by analyzing their growth and migration patterns. Jim was also enthusiastic about trying to work out the basic requirements for successfully growing cobia in captivity. His Gulf-wide study has so far produced some interesting results.
By DNA-fingerprinting cobia samples from the Atlantic and Gulf regions Franks and Patricia Biesiot, professor of biology at the University of Southern Mississippi, have shown that, because of their wide-ranging migrations, cobia in both regions are genetically similar and thus comprise a single breeding stock. Mississippi-tagged fish have turned up as far away as Bimini in the Bahamas and along the Atlantic seaboard. Similarly, fish tagged off the Florida Keys during the winter months were caught off Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas coastlines the following spring. The tagging work is an important aspect of this research, and literally hundreds of fishermen have participated in the program since its inception in 1989, tagging more than 5,000 fish. To date, nearly 350 of these fish have been recaptured. To successfully carry out the labor-intensive tagging work in a cost-effective manner, Jim provides 1,400 volunteer fishermen with a complete tagging kit including tagging sticks, tags, raw-data sheets and instructions. The enthusiastic anglers do the rest. Anyone interested in participating in this exciting tagging effort can do so. Simply call (601) 872- 4202, and ask for Jim.
The significance of this research for the management of this important species points out the need for coordinated effort on the part of both the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils, the federal bodies responsible for management of fisheries in the offshore waters of the Fishery Conservation Zone and the states that share responsibility for cobia management in their respective waters.
Data from the study so far indicate a general migration of cobia toward the southeastern Gulf as the season progresses. The vast majority of the fish will move out of state waters entirely when water temperatures begin to drop in the late fall and early winter. Once temperatures begin to rise again in late March or early April, the fish will once again reappear in our waters.