TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Cobia Head To Power Plant Water

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 10, 2008

A cold and windy November kept local anglers on the dock for much of the month, and that pattern has continued into December. The good news is that it appears the sudden drop in water temperature last month trapped some cobia in the bay.

I expect some fish will be hanging around in the hot-water discharge at the power plant in Apollo Beach. There will likely be some sharks in the mix - both bonnetheads and blacktips. On the next day we have without a small craft warning, I'd take a look around the flat in front of the breakwater and expect to see some fish.

On a couple of rare calm afternoons with no clouds, I got out to look for cobia on the flats south of Apollo Beach and found fish both times. The first two cobia were laid up like nurse sharks - basking motionless in the sun in two feet of water. I cast a black jerk-bait on a jig head in front of them, and the bigger fish actually got to the lure first. Usually the smaller fish wins this contest.

I was fishing with my buddy Gabe Krakowski of Brooklyn, N.Y., and we were so shallow, we almost drifted onto two guys who were wading out of kayaks. When we tried to anchor the boat, the fish took off on a long run, and for a minute, it looked like I might get spooled. But that was all the fish had, and we finally got it into the net. I quickly taped the cobia, and it turned out to be 30 inches to the fork of the tail, three inches short of the limit. It would have gone back either way, because contrary to popular opinion, I don't like the way cobia taste. To me the flesh tastes muddy, and the only way I've ever had it prepared where I actually liked it was smoked.

A few days later, I returned to the same flat and quickly found a pair of cobia cruising along the edge of the grass in shallow water. They were pretty close to the boat, and though one fish followed the lure, it broke off its attack at the side of the skiff.

The wind was blowing softly out of the south, so I motored out and around to set up a drift. This time I shut the engine off. A few minutes saw five cobia lazily cruising over bare sand in two feet of water. I made a cast to the edge of the pod, and a fish quickly pounced on the jerk-bait. It was a bit smaller than the fish I had landed earlier in the week but full of fight nevertheless. After a 15-minute struggle, I netted the cobia, took its picture and released it.

These fish have probably moved to the more comfortable warmer waters of the power plant. The severe cold front that crossed the bay the first day of this month should push cobia into the confines of the hot water outflow, and they will stay there as long as water temperatures stay in the low 60s.

Fred Everson is a Ruskin fishing guide. All South Shore fishermen and guides may submit information and photographs to be included in this column by calling (813) 830-8890 or sending an e-mail to ihuntsnook@aol.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT