The skinny on cobia

Lee Paramore, a marine biologist for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries in Manteo, has more than just a working interest in cobia: He also enjoys fishing for them.

“Cobia stocks are managed federally,” he said. “We don’t do any surveys or collect life history information on them. Cobia are considered to be in fairly good condition. I think the fishery has expanded recreationally, at least in this area, over the last 10 or so years. It seems to have gotten pretty popular, fishing-wise.”

Tourists flock to the Outer Banks in June to vacation. Coincidentally, cobia arrive at the same time, but for an entirely different reason.

“Cobia are migrating up from the south,” he said. “They are moving up the coast as it warms up in the spring and early summer. That’s when a lot of the fishery takes place. They are moving on the temperature rise and are coming up this way feeding — and I believe they do spawn in the summertime.

“They will sort of disappear some time around July, presumably they move offshore when they spawn. Then, right before they begin their migration back down to the south, they will show up again, and there will be another little spurt of fish caught in September before they start migrating back south as the temperatures get cooler.”

Exactly where cobia spawn is a matter of some debate. Some believe cobia spawn around offshore wrecks and reefs, while another theory is that they move inland into bays and estuaries to spawn. Paramore said it’s not uncommon to see smaller cobia inside inlets along the Outer Banks.

“Some of them do come into the sound,” he said. “You will actually see some smaller cobia inside Pamlico Sound. We see them there in June and July, actually in the sound itself, normally close to the inlets where it’s pretty salty.

“There are actually some fisheries back in the inlets, in some of the sloughs and canals behind the inlet. You will catch them a lot of times bait-fishing on the bottom around the open cove inside the inlets.”

For larger fish, Paramore recommends fishing in the ocean, where cobia have been know to attain impressive sizes.

“Cobia typically range anywhere from 10 pounds up to 90 pounds,” said Paramore. “A 30- or 40-pound fish is not uncommon at all, and 60- and 70-pound fish are caught every year.”

The daily creel limit for cobia is two fish per day and the minimum size is 33 inches to the fork of the tail, measured from the tip of the nose to the center of the tail.