Ling, Crab Eaters or Lemon Fish
They're all Cobia
Anyway you Slice Them

Canaveral has always been a great place to go cobia fishing. Whether you sight fish, live bait or bottom fish, you won't find much of a better place to target these great eating gamefish in Florida waters.

Cobia are called Ling in the gulf states and in Lousiana are often referred to as Lemon Fish or even Crab Eaters. In our part of Florida the common name is Cobia but we have loads of slang names from Chocolate Snook to Brown Fish.

Whatever you choose to call these remarkable gamefish commonly called a cobia you can bet they're one of the best eating fish in the ocean whether grilled, poached, fried or sashimied.

Captain Gina poses with Captain Brent of the Obsession Fishing Boat on the docks of Sunrise Marina. "I've never caught a cobia over 35 pounds til Captain Brent took me out for a day of fishing out of Port Canaveral." Explains Capt. Gina Bradley "He's a fun Captain with loads of knowledge and has an awesome fishing boat for going out of our area too."

Cobia Fishing out of Port Canaveral Florida

"Cobia are one of my favorite species of fish to go out fishing for off Port Canaveral Florida." Explains Captain Brent Hancock, "We have an awesome fishery here and can often find cobia almost anytime of the year from wintertime on into the summer, but the best time to target cobia are in the late winter or early spring or an unusually warm winter as they start to migrate north along the eastern seaboard."

Your best bet for cobia are in the spring around March, but bear in mind that cobia are looking for 68° or better water temperatures and move as the water warms up northward. Most knowledgable anglers target 70°F as the best temperature to get the cobia really moving in the northern direction.

Canaveral host local cobia off Port Canaveral that stay here all year long. You 'll find them in the deeper waters off wrecks in then colder part of the winter or around the reefs. During the summer you may find a cobia showing up on the beach or haunting those inshore wrecks and structues in sight of land. It's not uncommon to have a cobia hit a live bait while trolling or follow your boat when slow trolling live baits too.