Some anglers argue the benefits of fishing from a kayak. They throw around stealth and the ability to access tight places. But as a long-time kayak angler, I’m not buying it. When it comes to catching fish, any honest kayaker will tell you their craft is generally a disadvantage when compared to a boat with a motor.
Many sit on top of their first little plastic boat for economic reasons. The ones who continue to fish from them do it because of the challenge, the workout, the adventure and maybe the freedom from smelly, noisy and sometimes fussy outboards. Success is so much sweeter when hardships must be overcome, and cobia are a species for which kayak anglers are at a decided disadvantage.
While conventional boats run the beaches with anglers atop towers looking for fish, a kayaker is stuck down low to the water hoping one swims near enough to see. It’s a big disadvantage when it comes to sighting the brown bomber.
Even when cobia are tight to cover like channel markers, kayakers must consider the distances they must paddle to find them. The conventional angler might have a milk run of locations to hit. That would equate to a lot of paddling and not much fishing time in a boat under manpower.
Just finding cobia is more difficult from a kayak. Hooking and fighting one? Well, they are brutally powerful fish that do not give up… ever. Tiring a big cobia from a kayak is difficult. Some have suggested deploying a drag shoot to add resistance to a boat being pulled by the fish. If you’re close enough to shore, beaching for the fight is worth consideration. Or you could just crank down the drag and hold on for a sleigh ride. However you do it, you do not want to bring a less than spent cobia into the kayak with you.
This may be the most important disadvantage a cobia kayaker faces. A green cobia dumped on the deck has the raw fury to wreck everything. A gaff intensifies a cobia’s ire. Now imagine that fish between your legs on a kayak. It’s not a pretty picture, and it’s one that could easily turn upside down. A flying gaff or a tail rope might be used to completely subdue a fish. Just remember it’s not wise to attach the end of a rope to your kayak when the other end is attached to a big fish.
If the stars align and the fish comes boat-side, you could either just let it go or kill it, and then kill it again. A club or a ball peen hammer applied repeatedly between the eyes will do the job. Just make sure the fish is dead. They have a way of violently returning to life when you let your guard down.
So… these are some of the reasons it’s a bad idea to tangle with a big cobia from a kayak. They are the same reasons many kayak anglers are slavering at the mouth to give it a try.