- a venting of fishing etiquette when cobia hunting
by Robin
We went out Monday (14th) for just a couple of hours of sunlight to see if we could find some cobia for the freezer. Jack is working the next couple Sat & Sun, so Monday was our only opportunity for fishing fun.
We were greeted by beautiful, nearly flat seas. (1 pm?)
We saw plenty of bait fish and dolphin feeding on them.
Once we got to the south end of Patrick Air Force base, in approx 40 ft of water, we started searching around. Of course, it was obvious we were in the right area because we found the motherload of boats. We did our best to stay away from the crowds once we saw a ray do a backflip and the guys who rushed to it were a bit too intense & aggressive for us. So, we moved a bit closer to the beach in search of our own manta ray. We found one!! It had 3 cobia on it. 1 that appeared short and 2 with meaty shoulders. I know it is very hard to see the ray in the next 2 pictures but you have to trust me on it.
Not that I'm making excuses but I will say that losing these cobe were definitely our mistake. Jack forgot to purchase a new pair of sunglasses and he couldn't see the ray & cobes, so he was blind casting. I did my best to guide him. Anyhow, we he shut off power on the boat, we had too much forward momentum and drifted a bit too far past the fish & ray. Jack cast twice, but it was just too far of a distance before they sounded and dove down. We never did see her resurface.
Next, we came across several sea turtles all clumped together. I'm not sure if they were competing for breeding or what.
We headed north, slowly while looking for fish or rays. We never spotted any free-swimmers. I guess a ray had surfaced temporarily and the guy on the left was there first and the guy on the right came up on him. We watched it unfold and I took pics as we cruised past them.
You can clearly see the guy on the left tower is casting. The boat on the right is coming over to get in on the other boat's action. THIS IS RUDE! If somebody is already on a ray & casting for cobia, BACK OFF.
Well, we enjoyed the good weather, tried not to get worked up about dudes who think they're entitled to every fish and watched this C-130 do touch & go's at the Air Force Base.
Now, before I set up the next picture, let me set the scene. We're slow cruising while looking. The guys from that boat on the right were "running & gunning", which is basically run to the next spot, cast, run again, stop & cast, run again.... So, for the next couple miles, this boat runs past us, casts to something we never ever saw, then we'd motor past them and he'd run up past us again. It was like he was just doing everything he could to beat us to the next bit of fresh ocean. It was idiotic & rude, at best and I won't say the worst.
Jack decided to run a bit faster to the north to get away from him. I spotted a beautiful manta ray holding 2 monster cobes on her back. The bigger one, guessing 50+ was slightly trailing her and broke the water surface a couple times. The smaller one was near 40-50 lbs and slightly ahead. Jack made his first cast and it landed next to the bigger one in the back. No deal. Not interested. He cast again and I think the wind took that one wide. I had no idea that I would end up photographing the sequence on this boat & "the jerks" actions. At first, I was merely doing my best to get a pic of a cobia on the back of a ray.
Here, Jack is on his 3rd cast. I don't recall much on it because I noticed a jig coming from another direction from the other boat. Sigh. Thankfully, he overshot everything.
Jack's fourth cast, he put it right in front of the cobe in the front of the ray. It slightly spooked but then took a glance at the jig. He wasn't aggressive or hungry. The guy from the other boat made another cast and they ray "sounded" and headed for the bottom. That was it for us finding any fish for the cooler.
I had put my camera down but left it on to continue snapping a couple more shots as he rolled by us. I was so proud of Jack keeping cool inspite of this boater's rudeness. The boat's name is "The Other Office". I'd hate to do business with a guy like this even if he's behind a desk. He seems a bit self-serving to me. We've been approached by other boats before but almost every one of them has been kind enough to observe and not encroach on our find. Infact, we've hooked up before and you can hear other boats holler happily on our behalf. We gave celebratory hollers twice yesterday when we saw boats land their cobia.
I must tell you, I was slightly sad to be going home w/ no fish in the cooler but I put myself in time-out on the cuddy because of my frustration with people like this. I didn't want to talk or smile. I kept replaying it over and over again on how in the world could somebody be so boldly rude.
God did give me a little something to cheer me up. Some dolphin came over and swam our bow for a brief second. Here they are on the approach. I always like when that happens. Jack had a positive attitude. He reminded me how well the new engine repair job worked. I am thankful for that. We watched the birds work bait balls, too, as the sun lowered in the sky.
It was a good day inspite of its challenges. The cobes are still south of our port, so we'll have more opportunities to bring one home. Plus, any day you come home from the sea is a good day.
Happy Fishing!
Robin
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