A typical day I run four rods, rig the weight (I am not sure that the shape matters here), I like to run something a little heavier than most, maybe up to say 8 – 10 oz and since I have many of them I just use an inline weight. From that weight I definitely like to run a true leader line just shy of my main line. So the rods I use for Cobia I have 60# mono so my leader I run 50#. Seems extreme but these are killer fish and I definitely like dedicated leader lines as opposed to just adding another length of mono. Dedicated leader tends to take the shock of a quick strike far better than regular mono. Mono is designed to stretch over a long run of line being out and leader is designed to stretch over just a short length.
The leader length I guess can be a few lengths but based on my bait I like to vary that length between about 3 feet to 8 feet depending on the water depth I am fishing. I do this because I use live bait and all of those baits swim and I try to cover the water column if possible.
Bait, I have two primary ones, live eels and live spot. I think both work well but maybe give the edge to eels but only slightly. Spot are generally free but you have to fish for them. I have a good spot for spot 🙂 so I go out in the afternoon before fishing to get a few.
Fish on: Good job, first things first give the rod a couple of good tugs to ensure the hook is set. Then I would not get too excited to pull the fish close to the boat. First thing is to get up every line or anything else that is hanging from the boat. This will hopefully keep the fish from getting tangled in other lines or chum bags, etc. After that keeping him away from the anchor line is most key. You will need to tire him out so bring him in and set the drag so he can swim away as he likes. Also if you have a lever drag reel (which I prefer for cobia) let the drag out more if he goes under the boat. The line is easily chaffed under the boat and you will be more likely to lose the fish. Walk around the boat if needed and do whatever you can to keep the boat, motor, etc. off the line.
Netting these guys can get tricky especially as they approach 50 and over. My best advice is to be far more patient than you ever want to be and let the fish tire itself out. If you try to take it too early you can tell it bye for now. This patience takes practice and dedication, your first instinct is to get it in the boat as soon as possible, don’t do it.
Hooks: For me I like good quality 7/0 J hooks. I know plenty of people that use circle hooks but I just prefer the old J hooks. Make sure you have a good quality knot, I like the Uni-Knot but others work well.
Bait:
Eels: These guys are tough to rig, I always say they are like a rodeo bull, you have about 8 seconds to get the hook. One of the best ways is to cool them down on ice for about 10 min before you rig them. For how, I hook them about ⅓ up from the tail, hopefully center mass as possible. Put them in the water as soon as possible, they can tangle themselves up on their line if left to their own devices.
