Cobia in Myrtle Beach

When they come

Cobia migrate north along the Southeast coast in spring. Off the Grand Strand, they show up nearshore in May and June, often as the water reaches the low 70s, and some hold on reefs and wrecks into summer. Southern South Carolina, around Port Royal Sound, has a separate inshore spawning run; the Grand Strand fish are mostly nearshore and offshore.

Where to find them

Cobia are curious and like structure and shade. Captains look for them:

• Under buoys, channel markers, and floating debris.
• Following manta rays, big stingrays, sharks, and turtles near the surface.
• On nearshore reefs and wrecks, often swimming up to inspect the boat.

How they are caught

Sight-casting is the classic method. A spotter in a tower or on the bow looks for fish, and an angler casts a heavy bucktail jig, a soft-plastic eel, or a live eel or baitfish in front of the fish. Cobia also take live baits fished on the bottom or under a float on reef trips.

A hooked cobia fights long and hard and often goes "green" to the boat, then explodes when it sees the gaff or net. Captains often wait until a fish is tired before landing it.

Rules

Cobia are managed in federal waters by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and in state waters by SCDNR. Rules have included fork-length minimums, low per-person and per-boat limits, and seasonal closures, and they have changed often. Check the state and federal pages before you plan to keep one, and ask your captain.

On a trip

Book a nearshore charter in May or June and tell the captain you want to target cobia. They are a bonus fish on many spring king mackerel and bottom trips. See types of fishing trips and the calendar.