It’s spring time here in the Florida Panhandle, water temperatures are rising, the weather is getting nice, and the cobia are starting to migrate down the coast of Florida.
What is a Cobia?
A cobia, also commonly referred to as lemonfish, ling, or crab cruncher is a brown fish that has a predominant dorsal fin with horizontal pectoral fins, that can easily be mistaken for a small sized shark. Cobia feed on a protein rich diet of Crab, Shrimp, smaller stingrays, eels, pinfish, and other crustaceans. Cobia are known to swim both alone and within schools, usually staying close to objects in the water such as sargassum grass, floating debris, buoys, channel markers, and sometimes are even seen traveling alongside larger sharks.
How to target Cobia
When targeting cobia it is common to use at least a 7000 size spinning reel with a 7’ medium/fast action spinning rod.During the springtime many of the migratory cobia swim just under the surface of the water making sight casting a highly effective option in targeting cobia.
What Baits to use
One of the next things to take into account is the bait or lure to choose when targeting cobia. As mentioned earlier, natural baits such as pinfish, live eels, or live crabs tend to be some of the best baits to pitch towards a hungry migratory cobia. Other options when targeting cobia are traditional bucktail jigs and a wide range of realistic soft plastics that mimic the baits cobia typically feed on.
How to cook your Cobia-The Best Recipe!
Due to their protein rich diet cobia is one of the best fish there is to cook. Cobia tend to have a naturally mild and buttery taste unlike any other fish. One of the best ways to cook cobia would be grilled cajun cobia! The best way to cook this recipe would be to cut your cobia into manageable 8-10 oz portions. Dry off any excess water from the cuts and then squeeze fresh lemon juice over the cobia filet and let marinate for about 10 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and your choice of Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning, or Cajun Two Step seasoning, Louisiana Cajun seasoning. Once seasoned, have the grill set to a medium high heat and lay the cobia filets down for 4-6 minutes on each side until the meat turns a nice white and opaque color. Serve with your favorite sides and enjoy!
Protip: If your cobia filets are about 2” thick they may take every bit of the 4-6 minutes to cook, if they are thinner they may take a little shorter time to fully cook, it really depends on the thickness of the filet.