Jigging and Casting to Cobia

Sight Casting

This is best to be used when targeting cruising fish along the beaches, near shore bait pods, or other situations when the fish are on the surface. My terminal rig consists of a long fast action extra heavy spinning set up. I like to use the Shimano Teramar Inshore Series 8' extra extra heavy 20 - 40 pound class rod. The extra length of the rod will help you gain that extra distance when making long casts to cruising fish. I pair this with a high quality 8000 series reel, like the Shimano Saragosa, and spool it up with 50 pound power pro braided line. I'll attach a six foot section of 60 pound fluorocarbon leader using the albright special knot, then tie an offshore loop knot to attach to my hook. This may setup is light enough to fish all day, but has the smooth drag and back bone to land those trophy cobia.

When rigging the Hogy for surface presentation, I like to use the soft circle hooks when using the nine inch skinny or ten inch original. When targeting the largest fish of the year, I will fish the fourteen and even the eighteen inch on the pre sized tandem rigs.
Popular colors for sight fishing would be black, bubble gum and amber.

Presenting the bait to fish can be challenging, but taking the time to position yourself and the bait correctly will increase your success rate. When approaching your fish, try and keep your shadow behind you and not towards the fish alerting it to your presence.

Stay as far away from the fish as possible, while staying within accurate casting distance. Aim your cast in front of the fish and try to work the bait into the path of the fish. Begin working the rod tip horizontally using eight to twelve inch twitches to begin "walking the dog", as you get close to the fish, watch its reaction to the bait, and slow or speed up the presentation to trigger a strike. Using the soft circle hook, reel up the slack and old the rod away from the fish at the nine o' clock position and maintain pressure as the circle hook sets firmly into the side of the mouth. When using the tandem hook set up, make sure the fish has a good hold of the bait, reel up the slack, and set the hook firmly.

Jigging

When targeting cobia that are suspended over structure, I like to employ jigging techniques using the Hogy system. My setup for vertical jigging consists of a six foot heavy action Shimano Trevalla jigging rod, Shimano Sargosa 8000, and 65 pound power pro braided line. The light weight and strength of this setup allow for near effortless fishing all day. I like to attach a wind on leader of 80 pound fluorocarbon using a loop to loop connection tied to a bimini twist in my main line. This gives a superior connection for the heavy drag necessary to pull big fish away from structure.

Hogy has just come out with a unique style of lead head jig that makes rigging a breeze.

The deep darter heads consist of a 4x hook molded into the lead head. Behind the hook is a bait keeper that you screw the bait onto, add a drop of glue, and you have a deadly presentation for suspended fish. The jigs come in 2 oz, 4 oz, and 6 oz sizes.

Choose the lightest weight jig for the conditions. I will cast the bait out, let it sink to the bottom, and begin working it back up through the water column. Using sharp rod twitches and pauses during the retrieve will make the Jigging Hogy "walk the dog". I will vary retrieves either working the bait all they way to the surface, or stopping in the mid water column, letting the bait back to the bottom, and begin the retrieve again. When you have a strike, quickly retrieve the slack line and give a solid hook set.

The best baits for jigging cobia are the ten inch jigging Hogy in black, amber, or bubble gum. I have also had good luck using the Hogy Flounder when fishing over structure, try rigging the flounder vertically to mimic porgy and snapper near the bottom.