The Florida Cobia: How To Catch Cobia In Florida

Cobia is a top-ranked sports fish that is also excellent to eat. People compare it to the yellowtail kingfish in flavor, which is distinct, firm, and pleasant. Commercially, cobia is a premium fish due to the fact it is not overly bony, and you can filet it into steaks, loins, or sometimes cutlets. While cobia is good eating, it is the rodeo-like fight that draws anglers to it. When you target cobia, you are getting the best of both food and sport.

Targeting Cobia

The biggest cobia can be six feet long and weigh close to 100 pounds. Cobia is a deep-water fish and is often accessible by fishing charters that offer deep sea fishing. They like to hunt along the border between shallow water and deep water, especially if there is a shelf there or some sort of structure. You can catch cobia anywhere the bait fish swarm, from the shallows to deeper water. The waters off Destin tend to drop quickly and depending on where you fish and the number of fishermen around you may want to head into the deeper water.

Cobia is often a sight fishing target. You can spot the singles from the deck and then cast onto them. They will take a jig or live bait and BOOM it is fish-on.

They feed on many things including shrimp and crabs, and smaller fish, and will follow sharks to clean up any scraps that may be left over when the shark feeds.

Where To Catch Cobia in Florida

Cobia can be found from the State of Virginia all the way down the Eastern seaboard and into the Gulf of Mexico. Around Florida, one of the best places to fish for cobia is off of Destin, Florida, and into the Gulf.

If you are fishing for Cobia around Destin, Florida it is important to understand the behaviors of cobia and how to target them. Cobia is a migratory fish, and the local populations tend to migrate from the northern Gulf to the Southern Gulf and then back again. Generally, from March into October you find the most cobia in the Northern Gulf waters. From October or November until March or early April, you find the most cobia in the Southern waters of the Gulf.

The best Cobia Season in Florida is when the fish are in the Northern Gulf of Mexico – March through October and sometimes into November. If you are planning on fishing for longer or overnight then you can fish Cobia year-round. It takes longer to hit the Southern waters, but it is doable.

Where to find cobia in Florida

If you are fishing in early spring in Florida for Cobia, then head to the panhandle – anywhere from Levy in the east to Pensacola in the West. Inshore and along sandbars in shallow water – 15 feet depths or less. During the summer months, and when the shallow water is hotter, cobia tend to stay in the deeper water – 15 feet or deeper especially along any physical boundary between deep and shallow water.

During the fall and winter months and into the early spring months, you can often find cobia in the more southern waters of the Gulf. The farther south they migrate the warmer the water stays year-round. Cobia prefer water that is warmer than 70°F. If you are using a fish finder, use one that will tell you the water temperature.

If you are fishing off of Destin, you can be battling cobia in as little as 15-minutes from leaving the harbor. That makes the area around Destin, Florida ideal for all types of fishing. If you are heading out with a charter, then expect to be on the fish quickly.

What To Use As Bait For Cobia

What is the best bait for cobia? It is not a surprising question considering the draw cobia has on anglers. The answer is probably pinfish, which are baitfish that remain active and present a frantic behavior when cobia is present. Nothing piques the predatory instincts of cobia more than a struggling pinfish. “What do cobia eat,” is another popular question. Cobia eat many things and their diet ranges from shrimp and crabs to smaller fish, shads, and even eels. That variety of food is why you find cobia in waters from shallow to very deep.

You can use live baits or cut baits. Pinfish are good for both, squid, cigar minnows, ribbon fish, menhaden, and Spanish sardines are all options for bait for cobia. Cobia will follow sharks and eat the fringes of what remains after the shark has struck. For that reason, cut bait is also good. In addition, to live or cut baits you can also target cobia with soft plastics. Choose lures that have a longer tail and that mimic shad. One of the best bait for cobia is soft plastics with streamers.

Cobia Fishing Techniques to Hook a Cobia

Cast and Retrieve – A good technique with live bait or cut bait. Basically, you toss out your bait and retrieve it with short strokes. If there is a cobia around, they will feel the vibration of the bait and investigate. Once they strike, you will feel a sharp thump on the line you set your hook with a solid, upward jerk of the rod. With cobia, you have to set the hook hard, and you will know instantly if you’ve succeeded.

Sight Fishing – You can use live bait, cut bait, or jigs and lures when you sight fish cobia. Once you see the fish, toss out your line to it. Work the bait or lure and then allow the bait to drop. You will see the fish drop too. Open the bale and gently hold the line with your finger to the rod. Once the cobia takes the bait, you will see the line start to strip off of the reel. Flick the bale over and set the hook. You generally set the hook two or three times to really set the hook. For many fish, you only set the hook once. With cobia, set it a few times.

Florida Cobia Regulations

There are two big changes in the Cobia regulations for 2022.

• July 2022 – the size increases for legal cobia. They must be 36″ to the forks
• A vessel may only catch two cobias per day – in the past it was six cobias but in July 2022 that regulation dropped to two fish per boat per day.

Be sure to check with the Florida Fish and Wildlife unit before you fish as the regulations can change quickly. Cobia is an amazing sports fish. They are strong, fast, and smart, and when you battle them, they put on a good show and you will never know until they are on the boat if you will win that battle or not. Some anglers choose to target cobia that swim with sharks. It’s a fun opportunity, but never expect to land the fish before the shark eats your prize catch. A good tip for fishing cobia in deeper waters is to fish around structures, such as oil rigs. They will hang at oil rigs feeding on the bait fish that congregate there.