Does anyone knows when the cobia start to come in and where is the best spot to fish for it.

They come into the bay near the end of May! Look for the water temps at 68-70, thats when they start biting good. Productive spots to try are, bluefish rock, inner middle grounds, the cell, 9ft shoal, Hampton bar will hold some, and the whole buckroe area which is located near bluefish rock. If you dont know what type of bait to use, I normally will have 3 on bottom with fresh menhaden, also will have 1 on the bottom with a live eel. And then I will run a kite with 2 live bluefish/spot/croaker (whatever we have for live bait) and have those cobia candy sitting right at the back of my chum line. Im sure there will be more input on this, but either one of these spots I mentioned will hold cobia. Not to mention the pilings of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge tunnel can also be good to spot a cobia swimming freely. Always have a bucktail or a live eel ready, when running out to these spots bouys are another spot cobia tend to hang around. Hope all of this helps, I just re-spooled all of my reels for cobia season, so we are ready to go. If you see (Bring Em In) out there cobia fishing, give us a shout on 68 or my cell number is 651-7913 We would be glad to give you a report. Good luck,

-Chris

Thanks for the info. Hope to see you up there.

Alberto,

I know this is a long shot..... but is your wifes name Cynthia?

Tom

We were jsut talking (my brother and I) about how we can't wait for the cobia to show up. One of our big goals this year is to land a big brown suit. Last year was our first year fishing for cobes and we hooked up two very large ones, got 'em close, but not in the boat, so it didn't count. This is the year, so we're gonna hit it hard. As for spots, bluefish rock earlier in the season, then out near shoals close to CBBT and the pilings up toward 4th island/highrise. Late season, they congregate in the bouy lines heading out to the ocean.

By the way, Megabite is the king of cobia on this site, so I'd listen carefully if he weighs in on this one...

In late May to mid june, launch out of Wallace's Marina in Back River, take a hard right coming out of the mouth of the river and look for the large rock pile on the beach about a mile south toward Buckroe Beach. Set up in eight to thirteen foot of water, put out your chum bucket and lines. Using eels, cut (fresh) bunker or small, live spot, croaker or bluefish for bait, you should be in for a ball. In July, move out to Bluefish Rock or across the bay to 9 ft. shoals. Here the fish are usually, smaller but more plentiful. It requires more lead weight to hold bottom here as the current sometimes roars thru the area. Also, sharks are a problem! Another possibility is to move up to Plantation Flats and set up.

Second that, seen some pics of huge cobia's from megabyte on this board in the past. Hoping to land one myself this year. Was thinking of booking a charter with Megabyte or rick caton in NCto see how its done.

fishing strategies for cobia in Nags Head / Hatteras and Virginia are usually very different. In NC you spend most of your time "hunting" as you slowly move up and down the beach sight-casting live bluefish, eels or bucktails to moving pods of fish or rays and bouys that may hold fish. In Va, (at least early in the season) you would normally anchor and feed out baits and live fish into a chum slick and wait for the fish to come with you. I dont think you will go wrong booking a trip with either captain but I assume the strategies they employ will be quite different. My suggestion, book a trip with both and get all the tips

I have fished for Cobia extensively in Hatteras and OI the reason they do alot of sight fishing is that Water Off Hatteras is Cleaner it is easy to see the Cobia. They sight fish for them during the Summer.We sight fish here also but its usually along Grasslines,Tide Rips,Debris and Buoys.I use spinning outfits with Wind on leaders for that. It is actually easier to get Cobia sight fishing and doesent take rocket science to find them. Setting up a chumslick,putting out a Kite and waiting for the Bite is much more time consuming & involved.The larger fish are usually caught with Live Baits. Knowing their Habits really helps in selecting a good place to fish.

Mega, do you spend a lot of time sight casting for cobes early in the year or just late summer when they gather around the weeds and bouys on their way out? I spend a lot of time fishing in Nags Head and I always love hunting for the 68 degree water and the dark spots. but when Im at home springtime fishing usually involves anchoring. I actually have never 'hunted" for cobes in VA like I do in NC because they are so much harder to spot in the dirty water off the chesapeake. I also never have the success anchoring that i do "hunting." There is just nothing like a 60 pound fish swallowing a menhaden 20 feet from the boat and peeling line off a 15# spinning rod.

In the Summer when the Winds Blow out of the South West for weeks at a time we get some blue water in close.When it gets like that we sight fish.I always check wood or debris floating.We also run my Seacraft 50 miles south frequently and do the Cobia thing also.Keep a Bait well full of Live Menhaden and rig them up on short wind on leaders that way we can cast our baits accurately to the largest Cobia in the group.If they are Skiddish I just Swim one over to them the best I can.Early in the Year I like to do the Cobia & Drum at the same time when Anchored up.I do run South and Sightfish while bump trolling with the Kite.