SUBJECT: # 35467: First Cobia

Submitted by cliffy1 from VIRGINIA on 7/13/01 5:26:00 PM

I want to thank some people here for the cobia advice. I caught my first one yesterday and it has me addicted. Because of strong winds, I couldn't go as far out as I had planned but it worked anyway.

We went to "Hole in the Wall" in the Chesapeake Bay in an area with 8 to 12 feet of water. Tide was moving up and the wind was from the North at 15 to 20. I put out two chum bags (one on top and the other on the bottom) and set out three fish finder rigs with 6 oz of weight and live eels.

The first one hit after about 40 minutes and the other hit 10 minutes after landing the first. The wind picked up after that and the tide stopped so we quit.

I suspect this was beginners luck, but I'm addicted. I already have three more trips planned in the next month to return. What an awesome fish. These were only 25 and 30 pounds and I'm not sure how I would even land a bigger one but I'm going to find out.

Oh, and there was also a school of large blues in the area. I didn't catch one but lost three 6" sassy shads to them. They were cut clean in half, so anybody looking for good sized blues ought to look at this area.

1. 7/13/01 5:38:00 PM Submitted by Nimrod (12.17.202.44) from TEXAS says Good Job!
   How'd you like those dorsal spines?

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2. 7/13/01 6:14:00 PM Submitted by Speck-Tacular (12.73.250.93) from LOUISIANA says good job
   ASking questions help. Its easy to get a big cobia in the boat. Clear everyone out the bow area and everything. Gaff and get the heck out the way before they slap yo booty right over the side. I think billy clubs were designed with cobia and dolphin in mind. NO other fish are as crazy onboard.

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3. 7/13/01 7:19:00 PM Submitted by cliffy1 from VIRGINIA says Funny thing about asking questions
   I got more sound advice from this site and one other than from the tackle shop that I bought the eels at. They told me there weren't any cobia at Hole in the Wall and told me to run 10 to 15 miles across the bay. They also looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I wanted two chum bags and couldn't understand why I wanted more than 4 eels. I spent 15 minutes in the store trying to pick their brains and came away discouraged. I knew the wind was too high to make that long of a run in my 20' bay boat.

   When I stopped back by there on the way home, their jaws dropped open. They were quite gracious about admitting that they had been wrong about the spot. They were shocked that such a rank amature was able to catch cobia on his first attempt. Then again, I did my research here.

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4. 7/14/01 7:58:00 PM Submitted by yankeecaster (129.80.22.143) from SOUTH CAROLINA says cobia
   nice catch Cliffy!!! way to go. Don't you post on Reddog???

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5. 7/15/01 1:13:00 PM Submitted by cliffy1 from VIRGINIA says Reddog?
   Never heard of it. Thanks though.

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6. 7/15/01 7:10:00 PM Submitted by Hawkeye (24.15.188.191) from VIRGINIA says Pretty work...
   Good job my man. You have to work with what is delt you and you did fine. Can't beet those live eels for cobia in the bay. I kinda got the same look when we get 8 chums and 20 eels. We have had a quite a few days we used it all. Your lucky those blues didn't find those eels. Had that happen a few times. I think cobia can be caught on either side the bay. They like the shallow flats and a lot of fish are caught just below there around the york. I hear there have been a lot of sharks in the lower bay and they may be pushing those cobia to other areas they don't normaly feed or hang in. Good luck in your next adventure.

   Hawkeye

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7. 7/16/01 8:40:00 AM Submitted by Skipjack/VA (137.246.19.141) from VIRGINIA says Gosh!
   Cliffy,

   Sounds better than my first couple attempts! Glad the info paid out! Thats what its all about! Way to go! PS. What port are you running from? Just curious if I can figure out your bait shop experts?!?

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8. 7/16/01 1:13:00 PM Submitted by Weedline warrior (216.10.166.127) from NORTH CAROLINA says Cobia
   Good job on those fish they are my personal favorite. We caught 16 citation fish in nc this spring 9 by release, 7 by #. 98,86,78, were the big three.

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9. 7/16/01 2:42:00 PM Submitted by cliffy1 from VIRGINIA says Skipjack
   Ran out of Gwynn's Island. The tackle shop was actually a nice one and the guys there seem to know more about Spades than cobia. I don't hold anything against them and will be using them again. It was just kinda cool to pull up and show off. They took pictures and said they would send one to the local paper. Nice guys.

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