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I have been self-teaching cobia fishing (kayak-fishing) in Western shore, VA.
I learned that kayak-fishing cobia is quite different from that of boat fishing. There were many limitations when kayak-fishing. Here is the summary of what I learned in the Western Shore, VA when kayak-fishing for cobia:
Fishing Log as a beginner:
Thanks
Joe
I learned that kayak-fishing cobia is quite different from that of boat fishing. There were many limitations when kayak-fishing. Here is the summary of what I learned in the Western Shore, VA when kayak-fishing for cobia:
- The kayak-able cobia fishing spots are limited in the Western Shore, VA. The most places were too far for kayak-anglers. I still think 6-15’ of water from Rudee to CBBT is a good place for cobia. But I could fish in 8-15’ of water between Buckroe Beach pier and the inlet of Back River. I thought Cobia can be found anywhere outside of the crab pot lines in 8-15' of water. And I think I was right. I hooked 2-3 cobia during each of the 3 trips. (Refer to the map on the video)
- I needed a large net. I thought I could tire out the keeper cobia. From this year, Gaffing or hammering cobia is not allowed. Tiring a keeper cobia wasn’t that easy. It seemed that Keeper cobia (40” minimum) can last for a long time. I think I lost 4 keepers after 30 minute fighting. If I had a large net I could land them right at the gunwale.
- I chased tailing cobia 2 times. But I lost them all. I even stood up (on my Hobie Outback) often to find the submerged cobia
- Pick a calm day for Cobia when wind speed is less than 10 MPH depending on the wind direction.
- Bring a large anchor. In some spots, I needed a small boat anchor with a chain because the current was strong and the bottom was very hard. I found that the current at Buckroe beach was milder than other places. For a starter, Buckroe is a good palce.
- I no longer use bottom rig with a sinker slide with a 6-8 OZ Pyramid sinker. The reasons are (1) I caught many sharks and rays. Catching sharks and ray should be avoided by any means. 4+ sharks or rays will cost the whole fishing day. (2) Also eels tangle themselves badly on the leader line when eels are placed on the bottom. (3) There were more crab attacks to the baits on the bottom.
- I found that bobber rig is better because I haven’t caught sharks and rays on the bobber rigs. Bluefish still bite the baits on the bobber rig, but I don’t think I can prevent that. I can always catch more spots/croakers/southern kingfish.
- One of rod and reel combos is spinning reel/rod combo for casting purpose. So I use a 3 OZ inline sinker (both sides are connected by coast lock swivel from leader line and main line) when I used a bobber. If I see a tailing cobia, I will remove the inline sinker, attach leader line with an eel (or buck-tail), and cast to the tailing cobias.
- On other conventional reel, I used a 3-4 OZ egg sinker or a sinker slide with a 3-4 OZ sinker. I don’t intend to cast this combo at all
- I needed only 4 eels per trip. The live spot/croaker/southern kingfish can be caught constantly in June. Trust me. The problem is that they are too big. They should be at 5-6”. They can be longer than 7” in my opinion. So keep catching when Cobia are biting. Bring a trolling bait tank to keep the live bait. So try to save eels. Use live baits you catch.
- I needed 2 one-gallon chum bags. I bought the one-gallon chum from Grafton. The Grafton one-gallon chums were fresh and it was already in a chum bag. The chum bag was also in a sealed plastic bag. A one-gallon chum lasted 1.3 – 3 hours depending on the water temp and additional holes (on the bag) I made. Because the chum bag was in a sealed plastic bag, I kept the second bag in my cooler as Ice and keep the chum bag frozen.
- The best time for chumming for cobia is two hour before a slack tide and two hour after the slack tide. Unlike striper or bluefish, you want to fish during the slack tide, not during the fast current.
- Use 9/0 – 10/0 J hook for live spot/croaker/southern kingfish. Regardless of the location of the hook on these live bait, my 8/0-10/0 circle hooks failed 100% for me. Now I put a 90/ - 10/0 J hook on the bait before the tail. The J hooks placed before the tail produced the most hook-ups, and also resulted in the least live bait tangles with the leader lines.
- Give a plenty of time to cobia. Wait until a cobia swallow the bait. It seemed that cobia couldn’t swallow the live bait that easily like stripers. It looked definitely a cobia has smaller throat than a striper at the same size. A cobia holds the live baits in the mouth for a long time before swallow the bait. So be patient. A cobia isn’t a striper. Free spool when you see cobia around the bait. Wait for the first long run ends. Wait for the second run. Set the hook at least 10-15 second after the second run started. If you think cobia is smaller for the bait, wait more. You will know the size of the cobia by the first run and the second run.
Fishing Log as a beginner:
Thanks
Joe
I had big plans for cobia this month and nothing seemed to pan out for me. Work, daddy duties, wind, wind, wind, and so on have made it a big bust so far. I'm glad you got some.
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