Cobia fishing in coastal waters of North Carolina is growing in popularity with many giving credit to the increased catches in recent years. The increase in Cobia is, no doubt due to different factors such as more gill netters targeting cobia throughout their entire range (more availability), more people fishing for Cobia (more effort), and ultimately more opportunities to land a cobia. Cobia fishing is becoming more popular in North Carolina with the increased catches of large cobia within 50 miles off our coast-line.
There are many different types of fishing gear used for Cobia, but the most popular seems to be deep dropping, also known as bottom fishing or jigging. Cobia are typically caught on jigs which are designed for this purpose, but due to the increased demand it has become common to catch cobia by fishing heavy bottom bouncing baits or chunking with high quality metal jigs. Although you can catch Cobia using these methods in many locations throughout North Carolina's coastal waters, many of the most successful cobia anglers have been fishing in the same areas off of Cape Lookout. The best time to fish for Cobia in this area is from late March through October, but there are certain factors that can contribute to a better chance at landing a big cobia. So lets get started…
There are a few factors that should be considered when Cobia fishing in North Carolina. The first factor is wind direction, but it's important not to look at the wind directly onshore because this typically does not coincide with most Cobia being caught. Instead you must look up current weather conditions and the predicted wind direction to figure out which way the wind is blowing offshore. The goal is to have the wind blowing directly onshore, but at an angle that will allow you to drift up current of where Cobia are holding. If you are fishing in 100 ft of water you need a strong southeast breeze (onshore) with gusts 10 mph higher than normal for optimum drift and bottom bouncing. If you catch a Cobia while drifting in 100 ft of water it may be on either side of your boat or directly under the boat, but more often than not they are found on the side that is facing into the wind current.
The second factor for catching Cobia is learning to look for fishing marks that are associated with Cobia. These fishing marks will have bait fish jumping out of the water because they are fleeing from under a predator. It's important to find these types of fishing marks because Cobia will typically be lurking within striking distance. There are three common types of artifical lures used for Cobia fishing which are jigs, bottom bouncers and chunking. The most productive type of artificial lure to use is a jig because it gives you the ability to catch fish that are suspended in the water column as well as Cobia that are sitting on the bottom.
Below I have listed many fishing marks that have been reported by cobia anglers, so you may want to print this list out before heading offshore. The first waypoint is for fishing marks in 100 ft of water and the second waypoint is for 200 ft of water.
