I have seen a handful of folks gaffing questionable fish in the past. Trust me, 33" FL is a big fish. You might think you have a keeper but it might not be. Net him and measure.
Also witnessed a boat with a big momma yesterday gaff it about 3X only to lose it at the boat. You might think you are pretty good on the gaff, but a semi-green Cobia will freak out when you stick it.
I believe the net also keeps them under controlled in the boat better, and you also don’t have a pizzed off Cobia flinging a gaff around ready to sink in someones ankle.
If you consider yourself a sportsman and conservationist, why not use a NET?
“If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel .” Benjamin Netanyahu
I keep several arc dehookers on the boat and GOOD pliers. I try not to take larger fish (but not large enough) like 30-35" cobia out of the water at all unless they need to be vented or they are going into the box…
With the way the regs are nowadays, there’s no real need to measure fish if they’re that close to the limit unless there’s a slot you need to be in to harvest it. Can’t or don’t want to keep that many, so why not keep the fish that have already spawned a few years? I think this thread is more about what to do with released fish maybe though because I’m not sure how folks actually could get a 60-90lb cobia into the bote with a landing net. The fish has to be near dead I guess…
BTW, I’m speaking as someone who has been grilled on here for how I’ve handled fish per photo’s I post.
You’ve got 80/100lb + leader that you can control a fish with. Dehook the fish or use good pliers and be done with the whole thing in 5 seconds without coming out of the water. An arc dehooker will get a deep hook out extremely easily if you simply watch the video they provide with the things and understand the technique. No need to haul the fish onto your deck and suffocate it while you wrangle a hook with the wrong tools whilst the fish entangles itself 55 different ways with its pec and tail fins, dorsal spines, the net and your leader and hook.
I guess I just don’t recall ever catching a cobia that wasn’t big enough for me to personally keep and feeling like I needed to gaff it, net it or take it out of the water. Put some gloves on, choke down on the leader and man up with a good dehooker.
Phin - your advice is good advice, and you are not the type of angler this is aimed at. Those that is is aimed at are probably gonna be lurkers on this site only. It was written based on being ticked off at observing people gaffing questionable length fish and gaffing (and losing) fish that could have been netted. I landed a 45" FL fish in a net last year with no problems. You gotta buy a big net. 60-90 lb Cobia are not the norm inshore, ie Beaufort, but smaller ones are, @ 50 lb and below. I’m hoping to get a discussion/debate going and if a handful of Cobia are released unharmed as a result then this will be all worth it to me…
I have a smaller ARC and successfully used it to free a decent size shark that was hooked nicely in the lip with a 6/0 circle hook. Those dehookers are the bomb!
Optiker- A cobia freak-out is probably the scariest thing I have seen. Had the chance to see one fought for ~20-30 minutes and then it took 2 people to gaff it and put it in the box before it had a chance to destroy the boat. I could not beleive the sheer rage and power of that fish. I am not convinced they actually get tired.
Do they freak out less in the net? And is it possible to tail them if you have the strength to pull a bigger fish in the boat? Just asking for my own knowledge.
Girldawg - I do not claim to be an expert on Cobia, I have only been at it a couple years now. But in my experience if you tire them out and net them, they don’t freak out too much. I put it between my front hatch which is raised, and the front cooler. It forms a trough of sorts that contains them. I have also had some luck throwing a towel over its head. When you clean them you appreciate where that power comes from. Steaks can be inches thick!
I got mine at Dicks in Summerville. If you get a big one in the net it can help to pull it up by the webbing instead of the handle.
As people have responded to this thread I now believe that I haven’t had much problem with Cobia freaking out because of the net. I don’t even own a gaff, but can imagine that they would be really pizzed to get a hole in them
Totally agree, I used to use a net excusively for big girl stripers off the NJ coast, it’s a whole lot easier to net them than to stick em anyway, fish always swim fowards right. As far as bending the net handle while lifting the fish, after the catch is in, simply point the handle toward the sky and lift from the rim of the net instead of the handle. Never lost one as a result of trying to net one, lost plenty for other reasons though. Safe fishing everyone
Opti and I have boated 4 together over the past 2 seasons and his 11 year old son landed a 30 pounder just last week. I to am no expert, but I truly believe having a net around the body tends to calm the fish much like putting a towel over it’s head. Slamming a gaff into them can only bloody up your boat and possibly destroy your “stuff” (they tend to get pissed off when you do that). Also, a fish in the 60-80lb range tends to be a little tough and not as tasty as the 20-40 pounders. Also, tying one off and letting it swim behind the boat tends to attract other cobia. It’s great to see a lot of like minds on the site that are leaning towards taking only what you plan to eat.
Optiker, I see the point you were making. When I lived I Florida, I saw people gaff over slot reds, measure take pics and then pitch them back. I always net or booga the reds. Cobia, I know are a completely different story. I have seen a guy get a gaff in the calf muscle from a very mad green cobia. I love the info from you all on here. Thanks and keep going.
I love the info from you all on here. Thanks and keep going.