The Cobia Angler Gift Guide

Cobia come with spring. By May they're on the lower Chesapeake shoals: Cape Charles, Latimer Shoal, the pilings of the Bay Bridge-Tunnel. In the Carolinas they work Hatteras and the sound lanes off Hilton Head. The days are long and hot, somebody is always up high scanning, and every buoy, ray and shoal edge gets a hard look for a brown shape at the surface. Summer pushes it out to the towers, Chesapeake Light and Frying Pan, with fish up top and stacked down the legs into October.

The Cobia Angler hunts one fish at a time. You see it, you get one good cast, and the rod has to be rigged before the fish shows. When the surface goes quiet, the tubes go down on the shoal edge. This is the box I'd hand one for both.

1  Slowtail Twin Tail Guide Pack “The First Cast”

WHEN  A fish shows on top: cruising a shoal edge, riding a ray, hanging under a buoy. You get one shot, so this is tied on before the boat leaves the dock. Bone is my confidence color, the one that works when you're unsure.

FISH IT  Read which way it's swimming and lead it. Never land it on its head. Let it sink a few seconds into the zone, then sharp twitches of the rod tip with a pause between, so it falls slow. Follows but won't eat? Change the pause before you change the lure.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  Two tails that flutter with almost no forward speed, and the weight and hook are molded right in, so it tracks every time. Three in the pack, so there's a spare on the bow.

“Swims with very little motion and very durable after catching many fish” David C.

2  Vintage Locker Protail Paddle “The Follow-Down”

WHEN  The fish sinks out before you can cast, a school is fired up past Slowtail range, or they're stacked down the legs at Chesapeake Light or Frying Pan. Fish the tower at more than one level. Olive is my color for clear water and fish that inspect before they eat.

FISH IT  Stop casting to empty water. Follow the fish down: lift the paddle several feet, let it fall, and watch the line for a light pickup on the drop. Slow it down and the paddle glides like a big eel.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  The toughest softbait on the market with a heavy head, so it reaches the fish below fast. Heavy Protails are already the default for tuna and Canal anglers; a cobia deep on a tower is the same problem.

“Extremely durable and really like the single hook for easy release and lower mortality.” Jeffrey C.

3  Protail HD Eel “The Eel”

WHEN  A cobia rides up behind the Slowtail, looks, and slides off. Changed the pause and it still won't eat? Go to the eel. An eel is a top cobia bait, and this is the long, slim profile.

FISH IT  Lead the fish, let it sink, then slow lifts with a long pause. It sinks faster than the Slowtail and cuts through current, so it's also the one to count down when fish ride deeper.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  Same Protail platform, slim eel body, and a thump tail that kicks the moment the reel turns. All the eel, none of the bait tank.

“When cobia are finicky about most popular lures, they'll rarely turn down an eel” Bob M.

4  Perfect Tube “The Search Party”

WHEN  Sight fishing stalls and the surface goes flat. Find a shoal shoulder where a 15 to 20 foot flat drops into 40 to 50 feet, and troll parallel to the edge, close to bottom.

FISH IT  About 2.5 mph, a few feet off bottom. When the rod loads, don't set. Hold it and let the rod load while the fish slides down the tube to the hook. Moderate drag, 10 to 12 lb. Heavy drag and jerky rod work lose fish.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  At trolling speed it swims like an eel. Internal helix core and a built-in swivel, so it runs right out of the bag. Wine is one of the two dark colors I want on a cobia tube.

“Perfect Tube plus Trolling Weight a great combination to get lure down into strike zone!” Jon P.

5  In-Line Trolling Weight “The Depth Dial”

WHEN  The tube needs to be near bottom on a 40 foot edge and there's no lead core on the boat. The in-line weight gets it to about 40 feet on conventional or spinning gear with braid.

FISH IT  Troll about 2.5 mph until the weight ticks bottom, crank up a few turns, and every so often let line back out to find bottom again. Edges change, and the check keeps the tube in the zone.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  Dual ball-bearing swivels kill line twist, and it stays out of the way of the tube's swim. Tie it in and the casting outfit becomes a tube rod.

“Used for Bluefish, Spanish Mackerel, and Rockfish in Chesapeake Bay.” Mike P.

6  Hogy Southern Playbook “The Homework”

WHEN  Winter, before the spring push. Then it lives in the console for the questions that come up on the water.

FISH IT  Read it front to back once. Cobia share the pages with tarpon, snook, jacks, Spanish macks, tripletail, tuna and snapper: casting backwaters, beaches and inlets, jigging inshore structure and offshore wrecks, rigging for trophy fish.

WHY THEY'LL LOVE IT  Capt. Ross's complete southern guide, built the Hogy way: why the fish are feeding, the approach that fits, then the lure to match.

“...does a great job of helping anglers build a basic understanding of regional techniques, species, and seasonal patterns.” Erik L.

Sight casting: an 8-foot heavy spinning rod, a 10000-size reel, 50 lb braid and a 50 lb fluorocarbon leader. Rig it before the first fish shows and keep it where you can grab it.

Tube trolling: 50 lb braid backing topped with 100 yards of 36 lb lead core, then a 6 to 8 foot, 40 to 60 lb fluorocarbon leader tied to the tube's swivel. No lead core? A 3 or 4 oz in-line weight on braid gets the tube to about 40 feet. Drag at 10 to 12 lb.

Letting one go? Keep it in the water and get the hook out fast. Want a photo? Phone ready first.

Watch Sight Casting Surface Cobia and read How-To: Trolling Tube Lures for Cobia on hogylures.com.

More on Hogy: Slowtail vs. Protail Paddle, my rundown on which one fits the water, and when eel tails are the go-to for fish that follow and won't eat.