# It's not over yet!



## Jollymon (May 21, 2015)

Saw this on another board. Has any one heard about it .The War On Cobia Is Not Over

Posted By: Rick Caton <[email protected]>
Date: Monday, 5-30-16, at 12:20 p.m.

ATTENTION ALL COBIA FISHERMAN IN NC & VA.......YOU HAD BETTER PAY ATTENTION.......Just because we all got this assnine Cobia season rammed down our throats...don't think that is OVER.As we speak right now NOAA & SAFMC are hard at work getting their ducks in a row to have a TOTAL SHUT DOWN of the Cobia next year under the pretenses of a "SPAWNING CLOSURE".....this would in essence be the END of Cobia fishing...with the only option being Catch & Release which is total BULLCRAP....and don't think that it can not happen fore SC has already got it.
There is a meeting taking place in Coco Beach,Fla, on June 13 thru the 17th concerning this issue.
We are right now as we speak putting together a way to direct funds to a location to be used to send Billy Gorham to the meetings to represent us all.Billy is by far other than Jonathan French...more knowledgable than anyone on this topic and would do us all an excellent job.We are asking that everyone donate what you can...$100 bucks is a good round figure and if you can not afford that well donate what you can...or take up knitting or bowling or something else.Some have already pledged as much as $500 towards the cause.
With all this being said I or some else will keep you all abreast of this situation.TIME IS OF ESSENCE here and to let these bastards have this meeting without someone there to keep an eye on them is a recipe for sure disaster for our upcoming season.DEPEND ON THAT...look what the bastards have already done since Febuary of this year.WE MUST FIGHT THE FIGHT AND IF WE GO DOWN WELL BY GOD WE WILL GO DOWN SWINGING.Tell all your friends to be watching fore we have to get this done NOW.


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

Precisely what the "War of Northern Aggression" was all about. Sectionalism and STATE'S RIGHTS...Especailly as it pertains to the Federal Gov't

This is just another example of how that's working out.


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## bferg (Nov 16, 2011)

What is the big deal over a season of catch and release? Let the species recover a little...


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## jay b (Dec 1, 2002)

Says the person that's probably never had a finely grilled Cobia steak ...


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## 1BadF350 (Jul 19, 2006)

bferg said:


> What is the big deal over a season of catch and release? Let the species recover a little...


Recover from what?


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

bferg said:


> What is the big deal over a season of catch and release? Let the species recover a little...


 THIS I CAN NOT BELIEVE!! Obviously someone that hasn't cobia fished since 1975.. The first ocean cobia I EVER SAW on a pier was in 1978.. Yes there were a few caught in the Pamlico,but NEVER even saw one on a pier... There are WAAAAAYYYY more cobia now than back then.. These fish grow at close to the same speed as dolphinfish,mahi mahi,whatever you want to call them.. I can HALFWAY see a catch and release policy on red drum,as it takes at least 4 to 5 yrs to attain spawning status if a female and 2 to 3 as a male.. BUT a cobia can attain 70lb in 5 yrs... WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT???


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

bferg said:


> What is the big deal over a season of catch and release? Let the species recover a little...


Dude , you have no idea what you are talkng about. Cobia numbers today are outstanding, and better than they have ever been. So "Recover What" 

I remember back in 80s they were rarely seen or caught. The Feds only want to close off Ga, SC, NC, Va, MD... Florida gets to stay open and business as usual.

It's about Federal Gov't Control!


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

Drumdum said:


> THIS I CAN NOT BELIEVE!! Obviously someone that hasn't cobia fished since 1975.. The first ocean cobia I EVER SAW on a pier was in 1978.. Yes there were a few caught in the Pamlico,but NEVER even saw one on a pier... There are WAAAAAYYYY more cobia now than back then.. These fish grow at close to the same speed as dolphinfish,mahi mahi,whatever you want to call them.. I can HALFWAY see a catch and release policy on red drum,as it takes at least 4 to 5 yrs to attain spawning status if a female and 2 to 3 as a male.. BUT a cobia can attain 70lb in 5 yrs... WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT???


I did not know they grew so fast. How many you caught last couple of weeks?

My first Cobia was 70 pounds in 1985 NHP late June.

It was a female full of Roe. I thought it was an ancient fish, but I was a neophyte about Cobia.

I saw and caught a lot of Cobia in the 1980's and early 1990's, mostly at Nags Head piers.

What was not prevalent were private boats sight casting them during that time. There were not a lot of cobia towered center consoles that I can remember. Private boats that I was familiar with fished with bait, down in near Hatteras Inlet at a place called the Cobia Stake.

At times the Oregon Inlet Charter Fleet would converge on Hatteras Island and if we were on Rodanthe Pier with pin rigs out it, we were a little jealous at times 
when the boats stacked up on schools, half mile out or so.

The Cobia would move through Hatteras by early July and be pretty much gone inshore until the next year. There were way more King Mackerel from June-November.

For whatever reason the some of the Cobia would stay until August in the Nags Head area. 

There were Cobia caught on Rodanthe Pier in 2014 in August, I cleaned a fifty pounder for a fella who had just caught his first and did not have a good knife.

When the Cobia went south for the winter, they must travel a bit further off shore than the ends of the piers cause I do not remember seeing or hearing about them much in the Fall.

Saw a school of about thirty cobia come in to Rodanthe pin rigs in 1994 or so that were in a school of about 8-9 large leatherback turtles, couple of the cobia were pushing or over 100 pounds.

The ignored our baits save one 40 pounder who hooked up briefly, the rest kept following those leatherbacks out towards Africa....I would like to think they are still with them


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## Lynn P. (Sep 7, 2007)

Love to read your stuff Grover....


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## 1BadF350 (Jul 19, 2006)

Lynn P. said:


> Love to read your stuff Grover....


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

Damnit Chris!!!

You were supposed to have been caching Bait when you posted above.. 

But you did Whack the Espanoles yesterday evening ..


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## 1BadF350 (Jul 19, 2006)

My rig was down for an hour at that point and i had three blues in my bucket secretly stashed for Sunday.
Good thing to cuz there was slim pickens baitwise yesterday.
It was the best spanish bite ive ever been involved in.
Garbo and Drumdum will probably chime in soon about the how the famous Spanish blitz of 1912 rivaled it tenfold. LOL


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

1BadF350 said:


> My rig was down for an hour at that point and i had three blues in my bucket secretly stashed for Sunday.
> Good thing to cuz there was slim pickens baitwise yesterday.
> It was the best spanish bite ive ever been involved in.
> Garbo and Drumdum will probably chime in soon about the how the famous Spanish blitz of 1912 rivaled it tenfold. LOL



It was not 1912 but it was the late 1980's when we live baited Spanish on finger Mullet off the piers , we caught some nice ones on live bait, using popping rods with Abu 6500's.

My close associate R Belton (He is DD's closer associate, R saved DD from going over the railing on some slippery planks one time) caught a live lined Spanish 12 pounds 8 ounces Rodanthe pier 1989 using a finger mullet.

Only 4 ounces short of the North Carolina all tackle record of 13 pounds even.

By coincidence only 4 ounces short of the World IGFA All Tackle record 13 pounds even (taken Ocracoke Inlet 1987)

I caught a few 4-5 pounders on jerk jiggers, as well as a 20 pound King on a jerk jigger same popping rod Abu 6500's.

My biggest Spanish was on a live lined Menhaden off of NHP in 1986, for some reason the Menhaden I hooked through the nostril thought he was getting away when I free lined him off the Tee, he swam right by our pin rigs and just when it looked good for him to make his freedom, that 6500 went to screaming I fileted the Spanish before I weighed him, cause he would not fit in my cooler.

If you would like to know the truth, some of the older fellas who had invented clothespin (you actually used a wooden clothespin release on the swivel of your leader in the early 1980's) fishing on the OBX, all ways told me the fishing was way more productive in the 1940'-1950's and the fish of all types were more abundant and larger than what were available in the 1970's-1980's when Johnny come lately Garbo showed up.

In the early 1960's king baits off the end of the pier were on floats or free lined. I think someone came up from Florida and showed the OBX the method still in use today by people with little to do with their summer vacations but sit day in and out in the hot sun watching a bait swim in circles.

The "Pin" in Pin-rigging comes from Clothespin which I believe was invented in 1912, not the wire release used today, although the new ones can resemble a pin especially if a live-bait thrashes and drives the wire into your hand.


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

And I STILL use a clothes pin and a rubber band most of the time. TYVM

Even though I have other release devices I still love the Clothes Pin method. I was taught by one of the very best plankers I have ever had the pleasure of fishing with.


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

Garboman said:


> It was not 1912 but it was the late 1980's when we live baited Spanish on finger Mullet off the piers , we caught some nice ones on live bait, using popping rods with Abu 6500's.
> 
> My close associate R Belton (He is DD's closer associate, R saved DD from going over the railing on some slippery planks one time) caught a live lined Spanish 12 pounds 8 ounces Rodanthe pier 1989 using a finger mullet.
> 
> ...


 Actually "R Belton" saved my arse because our "red headed friend" did not attach a board properly... 

For spanish we did it a little differently on Frisco.. We would catch peanut bunker from the pond behind Frisco,bring to the pier,liveline them with the wind holding them away from the pier with a 6500 in freespool with clicker on.. Biggest problem with it was,on occasion,a seagull would eat the bunker and hook all the way down.. Screaming run,but it sucked getting them off the hook... And yes we used a TRUE clothspin rig as well..


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## Drumdum (Jan 6, 2003)

1BadF350 said:


> My rig was down for an hour at that point and i had three blues in my bucket secretly stashed for Sunday.
> Good thing to cuz there was slim pickens baitwise yesterday.
> It was the best spanish bite ive ever been involved in.
> Garbo and Drumdum will probably chime in soon about the how the famous Spanish blitz of 1912 rivaled it tenfold. LOL


 Actually I ENJOY Garbo's ole war stories.. I'm not as good of a writer,but have plenty of them..  And to top it off,Imho,Spanish fishing is better now that it was then...


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

Drumdum said:


> Actually I ENJOY Garbo's ole war stories.. I'm not as good of a writer,but have plenty of them..  And to top it off,Imho,Spanish fishing is better now that it was then...


If you fellas want, send me $$$ and I will go talk to these NOAH folks in Cocoa Beach, preferably next February if I am still in Chicago....

$100 a piece is fine, no need to send $500 unless you want me to bring a date.


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## 1BadF350 (Jul 19, 2006)

For $500 you better SIIHPAPP

Pro tip: Do not Goggle search SIIHPAPP if you are at work


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## Garboman (Jul 22, 2010)

1BadF350 said:


> For $500 you better SIIHPAPP
> 
> Pro tip: Do not Goggle search SIIHPAPP if you are at work



Sorry, Dave does all my Google searches, will have to wait on him.


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## ez2cdave (Oct 13, 2008)

Garboman said:


> Sorry, Dave does all my Google searches, will have to wait on him.



Sorry, you're gonna have to explain that one all by yourself !


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## DaBig2na (Aug 7, 2011)

OH HELL NO!!!!

SHHHH, Be vewy, vewy, qwuiet!!!! 

"Let that Sleeping Dog Lay"


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