written by Evan Anderson

On this episode of Saltwater Experience, captains Tom Rowland and Rich Tudor change it up a bit and head 60 miles offshore in search of a great cobia bite. The cobia is a great tasting fish that yields a lot of meat, gives a good fight, and can be found all over the Florida Keys. We’ll get into some of the things that Tudor and Rowland observed about these fish and how to effectively catch them. Here’s everything you need to know about offshore cobia fishing.

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE SPOT

Probably the number one takeaway from Tudor and Rowland’s excursion was that, as Tudor said, “It’s all about the spot.” They set out from Hawks Cay Resort in Tudor’s 26 Yellowfin equipped with a Lowrance sonar system as well as a Motorguide trolling motor on the front and a Power Pole anchor system on the rear, giving them a diverse array of possibilities. They settled in a spot about 60 miles from the resort and had some trouble finding fish at first. “The Lowrance was showing about 35-40 feet, didn’t see any great structure though or any dropoffs. We really weren’t catching anything,” recalls Tudor.

Before too long, however, they happened upon a deep hole and Tudor took the chance to drop a bait down in it to see if there were any cobia down there. “Once we got a bait down in there,” says Tudor, “we got a bite.” “There’s always that period of fishing,” remarks Rowland, “where you think ‘Are we in the right spot, should we move?’ but then you move and you start second-guessing yourself. So getting that first bite is such a relief.”

It became quickly apparent that the spot where they would catch fish was quite narrow. “We needed to stay right where we were,” recalls Rowland, “and that Motorguide trolling motor was really helping because we could lock it in position. And no matter what the wind or current were doing, they were able to stay in the exact same spot.” The Motorguide has an anchor mode that is perfect for a situation like this.

NET ‘EM!

Typically in offshore fishing, if you’re planning on keeping the fish then you would use a gaff to bring them into the boat. However, if the fish you are catching are close to the legal limit, you should consider netting them instead so as not to cause damage to any fish you may need to release.

“The gaff is traditionally the way to go,” explains Rowland, “But if you don’t know if the fish is legal or not, a landing net is a great way to go because they behave nicely in the net. They will really calm down in that net and you can get an accurate measurement. And if it’s not legal, then you can let it go.”

In order to legally be able to keep a cobia, it must be 33 inches from the nose to the fork in its tail. The cobia Tudor and Rowland were catching that day were right in that 35-40 inch range (some of them bigger), so they opted for the net so they could measure and be sure they were legal.

THE RIG

Tudor favored a Carolina rig for the day, which Rowland describes as “a weight, a swivel, a long leader, and the bait.” As far as bait went, according to Rowland, they had “grunts, pinfish, and dead ballyhoo.”

“We also had shrimp and crabs on lighter rods,” says Rowland, “and I thought that I’d try something different. I’m going to drop a jig because if this is a popular spot, this is probably not a rig that people are usually going to use. So I went with basically a bonefish rod, 15lb test braid, and just about a 30lb fluorocarbon leader with a jig, and that was pretty effective.”

One of the tactics that the two captains used was casting into the same area that the other angler was hooked up in. Rowland preferred the jig for this trick. “When you hook a cobia, there’s a very strong chance of getting a double because they are followers,” Rowland explains. Tudor adds, “They’re just like Mahi, when you hook one you are expecting that more will come with it.”

Check out the full episode below and see these tips in action on Saltwater Experience S15:E11. Follow @saltwater_experience, @tom_rowland, @rich_tudor1, and @waypointtv on Instagram if you want more Saltwater Experience content. You can also subscribe to The Tom Rowland Podcast for 5 shows a week including interviews with icons, and how-to episodes.