About Cobia And Booking Key West Fishing Charters To Catch Them

Cobia can be found anywhere in the World in tropical or sub-tropical waters. They are migratory, generally travelling North for the Summer months. They have a brown back and grey sides. They look quite a bit like a shark. They have a distinct stripe running from the mouth to the tail. Cobia generally weigh around 20 to 30 lbs. and can weigh as much as 100 lbs. They are found in the Southern parts of the Gulf of Mexico mostly during late Fall, Winter and Spring months. They have white meat and are one of the best tasting fish in the ocean.

You can book pretty near any of the different Key West fishing charters to catch cobia. They've been found in water as deep as 4,000'. They can be pretty readily found around reefs, wrecks, pilons and any stationary or floating structures large and small. They can be found in the Key West flats and backcountry, all the way up into the estuaries and brackish rivers. They're more likely to be further out during months when they're on the move, heading North or coming South. During Winter months they can likely be found closer to shore. Watch for schools of them. You can often see them churning the water.

Cobia pretty much eat any bait fish, eels and crabs. There is evidence that they may actually prefer swimming crabs and shrimp. Ballyhoo, small mackerel, pilchers, mullet and pretty much any bait fish will do well though. Sometimes they'll hit on one bait, sometimes another so try to bring a variety. You can catch them on the bottom or the surface, sometimes one will work better than the other. If you're going out on the Key West fishing charters be sure to ask if anybody's catching cobia. Tell the captain you'd like to catch some cobia.

They'll also hit lures pretty well. They don't seem to be extremely picky eaters. Try to use lures that look a bit like any bait fish that might be in the area. When a cobia is hungry, he'll pretty near hit anything that's thrown at him. Cobia are opportunists and pretty quick to hit what they think is a wounded fish. If you jerk the lure like a wounded fish, your chances of hooking one are better.

To catch cobia you'll need a relatively strong rod and reel. Cobia put up a pretty good fight and are known to destroy light, cheap tackle. You'll want 200 yards or more of 20 to 30 lb. test line on your reel with a 3' to 4' 40 to 50 lb. shock leader. Use a 4/0 to 7/0 short shank hook. You can troll with spinner lures and use smaller tackle. Just realize, the cobia is a strong fighting fish and he can tear tacke up pretty badly.

When a cobia hits the bait he'll hit it with a bit of force and when he realizes he's been hooked he'll put up a pretty good fight. There's no magic trick to hooking them though, just wait a second or so and yank the line.

They're notorious for spitting the hook when you try to pull them into the boat. Be sure to use a gaff or a net. When you do get him into the boat beware of the spikes sticking up out of his back between his head and dorsal fin. He can retract them and then suddenly stab you with them and they hurt!

Taking into account the time of year, you can book near any of the Key West fishing charters to catch cobia because they can be found near anywhere. They're not to hard to find and not too hard to catch. You are more likely to find them though if you book a fishing charter that goes into the Gulf of Mexico rather than the Atlantic or to the main reef South of Key West.