shoot, i almost had him too

[jmfishin]

started off tuesday morning lookin for fish around the shore lines by hooters in p.r.
nothing there. went to stilt houses. nothing
went to a marker closer to anclote island. tons of different bait. caught huge threadfins, pins and some longer silver fish with yellow tail.. had these spikes that came out and stuck me. burned real bad.
first few pins caught a few 14" grouper.
shrimp caught an 11" snapper and a grunt i think.
we shoot to the island for a few hours with no luck.
saw a cobia on the beach, but couldnt get to him.
we were ready to call it a day.but with all the bait we had left. i wanted to stop at the marker again.
bai was everywhewre. got a 12" snapper.
then a few cobia stop by. i had a chunk of pin on, so i throw it at em and start jerkin it. bam he grabbed it and got hooked. a nice little fight later and somehow gets off. oh well, he was about27".
we throw a few big live baits far off the back and let them sit for a while. in no time we had about 12 smaller sharks and many cutoffs. something made some big splashes and left just a hook and a head. seen a big turtle and a manatee.
the about 7 20" ramoras were playin under the boat. caught a few on cut bait.
then a few more cobias come along but we werent prepared. they too were under slot.
caught the smallest mac i ever seen.about 6"
and lost a few plugs and hook to macs i guess.
and what do ya know,

a few more cobia stop by. this time im ready with a select for his a$$.
there about20' away, so i toss it to the biggest one. lands right in front of him. so im twichin n reelin, and he follows and grabs it
i try to set the hook,
and nothin,
i hurry up with a new shrimp, it lands in front of him AGAIN. i twich n reel and he munches it up. but this time i connect with on my small trout/red/anything else pole.
around the boat, under rods, under anchor, and finaly get him to the boat. but he wasnt ready yet. takes a strond dive down and right for the marker. i try to palm the spook. but the fraid 30lb leader gave in.
and i think this one would have been legal.
gonna try there again sunday if i can.
c-ya

[havetofish]

"longer silver fish with yellow tail.. had these spikes that came out and stuck me. burned real bad."

That would be a Leatherjacket...really can hurt bad.

[tylerdurden]

I believe that was a leatherjacket the fish that stung you, I wont be making a mistake of grabbing them any old way again. That burned for about half the day, also be careful when you do get a cobia I heard they have a few spines on their backs sting really bad too

[jmfishin]

thats the one.
caught one every cast on a cast master.
and thats how i lost the big cobia. i was tryin to figure out how to grab him

[montylfl]

best way to grab a legal size cobia is a wooden baseball bat. Beat its head it. They can leave a nasty wound

[jmfishin]

are they good for bait.? they die quick in a bucket