cobia report

They're still here, the guys bait fishing did really good this morning, everyone caught at least 1 or 2 fish.....except me, we just caught one, and we did NOT catch it bait fishing.   A nice 'un, 47 pounds after she was bled out in the cooler.

I was playing with bait balls.   Not having seen many cobia on the surface since the storm, I did not stick around when the reports started coming in on the radio from Capt. Joe Shute and company landing cobia while anchored up and bait fishing in both inlets.   I grabbed a net full of bait and charged off to my favorite spot, (Capt. Ray's hole).   One other boat was there when I pulled up and he was gaffing a fish. Not far from there, we saw a 50 pounder on a leatherback but didn't get a shot.   Things were looking good.

I got the anchor set, lines out and one of my guys was up in the tower taking in the sights.   I'm glad he was.   When he commented on the 3 sharks swimming by the boat.....he was actually describing a pack of 3 cobia.  I scrambled up the tower.   Everything went perfect.   All my guys knew that I was screaming with enthusiasm and not at them.
Crank the engine!   Crank in those rods!   Throw off the buoy!  Crank, crank, crank, HOLD ON.   I fired her up and spun her around in the direction that the fish were cruising.

Amazingly, we got no lines tangled or in the prop, the fish popped up right in front of us and I fired off  the black bucktail that Capt. Charles Brown gave me last year.  God Bless him.   The biggest of the 3 sailed on that bucktail.

I do enough bait fishing during the summer, can't stand to do it for cobia. Even when I try to bait fish......

Speaking of fishing this summer, my last available tarpon dates are:  July 30, Aug. 1, 3, 10, 11, 13  and for drum, I am open only Sept. 5, 8, 12, 21, 24, 25, 28, 29

The other guides that I recommend for tarpon fishing have openings July 12-19, 24, 29, 30 and Aug.  2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, 20, 21, 24, 28, 29, 30.

I would strongly recommend making your drum fishing reservations as soon as possible.