Cobia

Cobia, sometimes referred to as Ling by traveling anglers are one of the meanest yet tastiest fish that swim along the Nature Coast.  Often traveling on the surface anglers who spot these fish are often fooled into thinking that cobia are either sharks or remoras due to their brown backs and white under bellies.

Through out the year cobia can be found on a variety of structures including wrecks, reefs, and channel markers.  During the spring and fall months most cobia fishing is done by targeting fish that are traveling with stingrays.  Cobia use stingrays the way a hunter uses a bird dog to flush game, which is similar to the relationship of sharks and remoras.  The remora (shark sucker) will attach itself to a large predator and eat the scraps as the animal eats.  So it’s not surprising to find the opportunistic cobia feeding alongside the hard working stingray.