usually happens pretty quick.
Around the ships, the fi sh are
usually near the surface. But
you never know what they’ll
do. They’re moody,” he adds.
Run the Circuit
Of the 14 fi sh we landed the
fi rst day, most were near the
bottom. Multiple catches
were cookie-cutter mates
at 32 inches, and the biggest
was 36 inches, about 20
pounds. A bigger one man-
aged to wrestle free right
next to the gunwale. Alabama
law stipulates a 33-inch
minimum fork length with
a two-per-person daily bag
limit.
“I’ve had days of 15 to 20
legal fi sh, and other days I’ve
worked really hard for four
or fi ve. Most are 40 inches
or shorter, but last week I
boated a 67.5-pound fi sh off a
midbay can buoy. I’ve caught
them as far as 2 miles up
into the bay. You just never
know.” Rutland says the fall
cobia stick around until the
water temperatures drop to
the upper 60s.
The next day, after loading
up on more pogies and pull-
ing a few fi sh off the ships,
we ran to one of the shallow
rigs that dot the bay. Rutland
pulled his Chum Churn
from a hatch and loaded it
with dead pogy culls. Within
minutes, shades of crimson
began darting through the
slick.
“Chumming draws in
cobia, but it also brings out
the endangered red snapper,”
Rutland said with a grin.
“They are thick on these rigs.
I see a lot of tripletail whenfall fi shing for cobia too.”
Rutland arms his clients
with spinning gear when
sight-fi shing the bay.
Medium-heavy rods with
65-pound braid can launch
live baits or lures long dis-
tances when the fi sh are
on guard. Eel lures, large
plastic swimbaits, and the
traditional iridescent buck-
tail jigs up to 3 ounces top
the fake smorgasbord. A
run-and-gun approach to
the dozens of navigation aids
throughout the outer bay of-
fers plenty of opportunities
at the temporary residents.
“You can have the crazi-
ness of the spring migration,”
Rutland says. “Autumn is my
favorite time for cobia. We’re
out here in short sleeves, the
fi sh are plentiful, and you
get to watch college football
afterward. It doesn’t get
any better.”Gulf of Mexico
CobiaSWS
Tackle BoxRODS
7-foot, medium-heavy jigging
for conventional, or 7-foot,
medium-heavy spinningREELS
Penn Squalls or Fin-Nor
Marquesa jigging reels, or
equivalent; 5000-class
spinners
LINE
65-pound braid with
50-pound monofi lament
top shot; 40- to 60-pound
fl uoro leaders
BAIT
Live menhaden
LURES
1- to 3-ounce eel lures,
swimbaits, cobia bucktail jigs52 SALTWATERSPORTSMAN.COM SEPTEMBER 2019
On the Table
Cobia have white, fl aky
fl esh with a mild fl avor
and may be prepared
in multiple ways. Rut-
land diced several large
pieces to make cevi-
che for an appetizer one
night. Larger chunks
were seasoned, dipped
in melted butter, and
placed over hot coals
on his Big Green Egg
for several minutes per
side. Both were deli-
cious—another reason
cobia is such a favorite
Gulf gamefi sh.TOUGH CUSTOMERS: Large
cobia—tough and resilient—
require attentive landing.BOMBER RUNJASON^
STEMPLE^ (TOP)
;^ BILL^ DOSTER^
(INSET)