Cobia ? how

[Orange_hains]

Hey guys,

my dad has always wanted to catch a cobia and i woulda love to help him with this dream i live on the gold coast and often go fishing out tweed i was wondering if anyone could help me out with some
Hints, Tips, location/marks,bait and rigs, just some general how to/ know how

any help would be apreciated thanks.

[fever]

Try palm beach reef not a bad time of year at the moment.

[Tassie JR]

Hey mate, sorry i cant help you with the location but with ur bait you can try floating pilchards on gangs or live bait, the biggest key is berley and its the perfect time of the year for them.

hope this helps you and ur dad a bit.

cheers tassie JR

[reel scream]

Find the schools of bait and DRIFT through them. Drop down livies, plastics or pillies. If they are there and feeding they will eat just about anything.

I prefer the schools of bait that appear as a column of fish from the bottom up, sometimes 70 feet high.

I don't burley but if you were anchored up in the bay it would help.

This time of the year have a look around Western Rocks just north of Moreton. Often if the Gannets are diving there its worth a go.

Cheers Scott

[samson]

If i could give anybody a tip it would be once you have a good location that produces cobia like the tweed does it would be don't interfere and anchor within 50 meters of other guys especially behind them as you lose a lot of fish to anchor ropes especally early in season when the average size is 20 to 40kg as even on 80lb gear they can strip hundreds of meters but as the season goes on the size drops but the numbers increase making the fish more manageable.

As for locations any of the close inshore reefs produce as long as there is a bait supply and the water temp is right just be patent and fish live baits as far as burly goes the big fish don't respond well but the small fish don't mind a bit but when burlying if it doesn't attract the fish it at least attracts the bait which in turn attracts the cobia but i find continually pulling up strings of livies seams to get their attention very well.

Cheers samson

[modo]

My tip for you is to find a good spot above a nice reef or structure with good bait shows and anchor, berley alot and with your rigs we set out balloons for surface fish and we set out different rigs with varying weights to cover as much of the water column as possible with livies and pillies and while you wait it doesn't hurt to throw a slug to pass the time. We do this when we tuna fish too. ::)

[wiz]

How do you rig these live baits to keep them alive ie type of hook and where to put the hook in the bait?

Don't mean to hijack thread

Cheers

[Scott nthQld]

best way to rig live baits is the hook through the mouth, so the bait's head is kept facing the current so it doesn't drown, ro in the 'shoulder', through the back, just behind the pectoral fins.

Most predatory fish will take their meal head first o avoid any spikes it may have, so aving the hooks up the front makes sense because, that way, the hook goes in first and by the time the fish feels any tension and tries to spit it, you have a better chance of a solid hook up.

As for cobes, I'm no expert, but look for reefy/rocky areas, big pinnacles are a must fish, plenty of bait around. Livies are to go, but you can also try whole, live sandcrabs, just get some superglue and glue your hook to its back, cobia love eating crabs. Even if the bait isn't on a pinnacle, you still might find cobia there, feasting on the crabs that will inhabit the area.

[Orange_hains]

Wow, Thanks heeps for the replys that should help heeps, Wiz i dont mind, other people asking questions helps out alot.

so for any1 that fishes out tweed would the Pinnicle produce cobia ? or mayb windara banks, mud hole ?

Thanks levi

[trueblue]

I'm also no expert, but when they are feeding, they will take anything.

the last lot I got was on cuttle fish heads that were being fished for something else.

cheers

[snagking]

Try with a rod ;)

Just kidding, but I would have no idea, never caught one, but good luck :D

[Rumrunner2]

Cobia will also hang around wrecks, best time of year right now.

Awesome fish, best of luck finding them.

[griz066]

This one was caught off the Goldie.

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=138838