-by Captain Matt Santiago

Once again, it's one of my favorite times of the year and the fishing gods must be in a good mood because they sent us some great fish to catch earlier than usual… Cobia and tarpon are two of my favorite fish and both of them have begun to show up earlier than normal. While my friends consider me to be tarpon obsessed, Cobia rank #1 on my list of inshore fish to eat. Cobia are also one of the most reliable sight fishing targets throughout the late spring and summer.

HERE THEY COME
Thanks to new tagging data and research studies, we have learned that Cobia may not necessarily migrate like we once thought. I believe there are several different “migration” patterns for the Cobia we catch every year in Tampa Bay. Last year we were still catching some Cobia into October but many of the fish seemed to leave by mid to late summer. New science has revealed that our Cobia may follow several different patterns.

Some Cobia are considered residential and likely spend all year inside Tampa bay. This is why Cobia are sometimes caught around power plants and other warm water areas, even in December and January. There is also another group of Cobia that simply move west to east and vice versa. They likely move into Tampa Bay and the shallow surrounding areas every year during summer and move offshore the rest of the year. Scuba divers in as much as 200 feet of water often see these fish in large schools numbering in the hundreds. There is also another group that we have always known to migrate north and south along our coastline.

I SEE BUTTERFLIES
As a child I could have cared less about butterflies, I just thought they were another bug to get stuck to the grille of our cars and trucks. Now when I see butterflies in the spring, I get really excited. Butterflies are a great indicator of the start of our annual Cobia run. Butterflies are flying all over the bay area right now, and the Cobia have begun to move into our waters as well. Water temperature is another good indicator of when Cobia begin to invade our area. When the water temp hits 67, they start showing up in good numbers. With our warmer than normal spring, bay waters have reached that temperature and it is now Game On!

EYES WIDE OPEN!
The mouth of Tampa Bay is a great place to focus your late spring and early summer Cobia fishing efforts. The mouth of the bay is split by Egmont Key, making two funnel like passes which concentrate influxes of bait and Cobia. There are two basic ways to fish for Cobia in this area. The first and arguably the most effective is to sight cast surface cruising fish. Your eyes are your best and most important tool when pursuing Cobia in this manner. For this type of fishing having a tower on your boat really comes in handy. To look for fish you will need to stand at the highest point on the boat that is safely possible, be it a tower, poling platform, or securely mounted cooler. These brown bombers can be found on area flats, cruising behind rays, turtles, and manatees or ambushing baits on fixed structures. When Cobia are cruising on large rays in deeper water, they often swim beneath the ray, using it for shade. When you see a big ray swimming in deeper water, cast your bait ahead of the ray as if you were trying to catch it. You will be surprised how often a hungry Cobia will shoot out from under it to take your offering. Focus your efforts on any open water structures like range markers and buoys. Be sure to not only look around the structure, but look down any pilings, rope, or chain that might be attached to the bottom as Cobia are often found suspended on these structures.

The second method to catch Cobia is to anchor and chum areas that they like to frequent. Shipping channels, rock piles, artificial reefs, and large markers are a great place to start. Like other pelagic fish, Cobia respond well to chumming. Anchor up current of the structure and chum a mix of live and dead bait. Keep an eye on your chum slick as Cobia will often come right up to the stern of your boat to investigate the source of all the free food. Have a pitch rod ready, as well as hooked baits in your chum slick. Often several Cobia will be cruising together and a second one can be hooked right next to an already hooked fish, making for exciting double and triple hookups.

BRING'EM A SAMPLER PLATTER!
Cobia are usually not picky eaters and readily eat most well presented offerings, but sometimes you need to present them with a few options to get them to bite. My Cobia arsenal consists of at least 6 rods rigged with 15-30 lb. test braid and 25-50lb. test fluorocarbon leader. Because it is often necessary to stay a bit farther away from cruising fish, make sure that you have a few setups capable of making long accurate casts. I like to have a mix of live baits, as well as, artificials that can cover all levels of the water column. I usually have at least two live bait rods, one free-lined with a circle hook, and one rigged with a floating cork. Small crabs, live shrimp on a jig head, or big whitebait are some of the best bait options for this time of year. As far as artificial baits go, the traditional double hooked eel or Hogy is a must have and it is also wise to have a bucktail jig rigged so you can quickly work all levels of the water column and for vertical presentations.

BASSIN’ FOR THE BIG BOYS!
Last fall I experimented with spinnerbaits for Cobia and these ended up being much more productive than I expected. The first Cobia I presented a spinnerbait to had previously refused live bait and an eel, but as I slow rolled my spinnerbait erratically on the surface he quickly turned and inhaled it. During the next few days we took several late season Cobia on spinnerbaits, and on bass tackle to boot. It is a lot of fun to see a Cobia eat a non-traditional lure like a spinnerbait, so when you see me bass fishing in the middle of Tampa Bay this year, you will know what I’m up to.

Sight fishing Cobia on shallow flats and watching these normally slow moving fish race over to inhale your artificial bait on the surface is one of Florida’s ultimate fishing experiences. A little Cobia fishing can be a great compliment to a day hunting Snook and Redfish, but the Cobia is definitely a target worth dedicating a whole day to. Remember to handle Cobia carefully boat side as they are notorious for wreaking havoc on the gaff and on the deck of the boat.

Captain Matt Santiago is a full time-full service fishing guide and a Tampa Bay native with over 20 years of local fishing experience. He is a member of the Tampa Bay Fishing Guide Association and can be reached at 813-205-2327. You can also check him out on the web at www.FishingGuideTampa.com.