Capt. Chris Cameron
March Madness is here so bring on the cobia! This is the historic time frame here in the central east coast that the migration of cobia swims by us. Although we catch them all year long, this is usually the best time. The water is warming back up to the 70-degree mark. Free-swimming cobia are the most fun to target in my opinion. A few things must come together though. One being sunny skies, you must be able to see into the water a little bit and two, try to get as high as possible.
A hungry cobia is not a picky fish nor are they the smartest. My bait of choice is a buck tail with a whole squid hooked on it. This gives a natural look and smell. There are many different types of baits and lures people use.
I also like live bait. Pogies and pin fish work great too. It’s fun to watch a cobia go nuts trying to eat a livey. Sometimes there are days that you will see 30 fish and maybe only 2 actually eat or get Fired Up on a jig. I haven’t had many cobes turn down a live fish. Some say they will never turn down a live choice shrimp or their magic swim bait etc. Fishing is just what it says, fishing. Some days they’re on fire others they swim away from whatever you throw at em.
My gear of choice is 7-foot medium action rod with a light tip to jig the lure and enough backbone to stick the hook. Line is 40lb braid and a 50lb leader. If I’m using live bait, I use an 8/0 circle hook and I hook the live fish through the back of the head and cast forward and past the fish.
Don’t forget to register in the sunrise tournament for the month long Cobia Madness. Good luck!
This report has been brought to you by Captain Chris Cameron of Fired Up Fishing Charters, your premier fishing guide charter of shark fishing Cocoa Beach, offshore fishing Port Canaveral, nearshore fishing Cape Canaveral, Orlando charter fishing.
Capt. Chris Cameron
firedupcharters@gmail.com
www.firedupcharters.com
407-222-3573