Sight fishing for Cobia is one if the most productive fishing methods whether you are using artificial baits or lures. The Cobia can be spotted as they travel in shallow water flats, around pilings, navigational markers, buoys and anchored boats.
There are variety of baits that can be used to seduce a Cobia, there favorite being eels. Cobia usually swim in small schools or with a partner, they are often seen following rays in the shallows, the reason for this is, as the ray swims they kick up the sand and feed is exposed for an easy meal for the Cobia.
Cobia fishermen should keep at least a small box of colorful bucktail jigs, ranging from a 1/2-ounce to 3-ounces. These should include color combos of orange/ white, orange/yellow, pink/white, black/orange/yellow, chartreuse/orange, and white with a touch of chartreuse. These simple jigs consists of a lead head with a tail made of bucktail, Mylar, nylon, chicken feather or tinsel, and sometimes a combination thereof. Tipped with a strip of natural bait such as squid, a tiny crab, eel or menhaden.
These jigs combine action and scent, yet can be cast with extreme accuracy. Such high-visibility jigs are great for fishing close to the beach but can also plumb the depths, hooking cobia 100 feet below, even in a fairly strong current. It really can't be beat for versatility.
Lighter tackle is easier to cast and easier to make a bait presentation, but a large Cobia hooked up to a fifteen-pound spinning or casting outfit means a very long battle. Light tackle means a long battle and some lost fish, but if you prefer to get most of your fish to the boat, you may want to opt for 20 to 30 pound tackle. Even then, these fish fight long and hard. A good quality medium to heavy spinning reel outfit with a good drag system and at least 200 yards of 20 to 30 pound test fishing line. A 50-pound test, 5 to 6 foot leader with a barrel swivel is a must as well since Cobia have a bad habit of twisting line.
If you are retaining your Cobia make sure it is well played as Cobia that have been brought into the boat to soon have at times caused much damage.