# COBIA!



## JHOGUE (Oct 4, 2007)

I caught a decent cobia off sikes today trying to catch flounder his was about 6-7 pounds maybe 25 in long or so i'll try to get the picture on here but it's on my phone? i saw 1 other one get caught (very small)and some guy said they have been catchin them just about every day!


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## MR.STAAL (Oct 22, 2007)

i snagged a dead one out today that was small.....it looked like a remora so i threw an snagged him sure enough it was a small crab eater!


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## true-king (Oct 2, 2007)

I've been hearing of a bunch of people catching small cobes at sikes.


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## KoolKat45 (Oct 3, 2007)

We have been catching several for the last few weeks every time we go. Have also seen a couple thrown up on the pier dead which really ticks me off. I guess some people figure if its not something they want to eat then just take it off the hook and leave it on the pier to die!Its unreal how many dead fish we throw back in the water walkingon and off the pier.We also seen one that was filleted and left on the pier. All of these fish have been about 12-15 inches.


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## capt'n slim (Feb 8, 2008)

i must have caught over a dozen of them thursday on ly's trying to spanish fish, the biggest being about 10 inches. had to put down the rod and pick up the mullet net due to the large schools thatkept swimming by, i'de rather wait and catch em about 40 lbs or so don't want to hurt the little fellas.


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## true-king (Oct 2, 2007)

I was out there today and we picked up a little cobe that was still trying to breathe and threw it back. Its amazing how irresponsible some of the people out there are. You can walk down that bridge and see deadbaby cobia, stingrays, catfish, eels, pinfish, and whatever else they leave out there. I know a catfish can make you mad when you catch one, but throw it back!


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## specslayer (Oct 9, 2007)

thats horrible leaving fish to die on the bridge...i went a couple week s ago and there were litterally thousands of LYs on there...i know you cant help how many you catch but if theres that many throw a smaller net.


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## konz (Oct 1, 2007)

> *specslayer (8/24/2008)*thats horrible leaving fish to die on the bridge...i went a couple week s ago and there were litterally thousands of LYs on there...i know you cant help how many you catch but if theres that many throw a smaller net.


You aint kidding! A friend and I and his son were out there and a couple of guys just kept throwing there net and dumping them on the bridge! They weren't even using them for bait. Once they left I started kicking all of them over.

It's ticks me off to see all the dead fish on sikes too. I know catfish can be annoying but damn.....

Also another friend of mine caught a guy with a bucket full of baby cobia. He informed they guy and he didn't care so my friend called FWC and they never showed up........


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

yeah, it's pretty damn pathetic... but then again, take a look at alot of the people who fish out there, some are very respectable people who actually know what they're doing, but quite a few don't exactly look like conservationist...

i would have picked that bucket of cobia up and thrown it over the side, then thrown the guy over too, it's a damn shame the 'ooh might FWC' can't get there when the office is what... 10 minutes away!


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## jack 'em (Oct 5, 2007)

I personally do not kill anything purposely unless I am going to eat it or use it as a bait. I cant stand when people just leave the fish to die on the bridge either..what are the people just too damn lazy to throw it back?? And for the people keeping little cobes, I understand that there are some people who dont know what it is or its regulations, but most out there do. They better not let me catch them keeping them...especially not a bucketfull.:banghead


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

IMHO i think they need an FWC officer to patrol Bob Sykes every couple of hours or so...

i bet he could write 50 tickets a day...

too much 'riff raff' (PG rated words of choice) out there for them to go unchecked...

anyone ever notice how many broke beer bottles are out there???


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## fishn4fun (May 11, 2008)

i agree it should be checked even once a day would help people go out and keep whatever they want because they never even see the fwc so much as drive by much less get out and check. i saw a guy on sykes a week or so ago with 2 reds one was legal but one was about 35 inches i also saw some guys right across the steet from the fwc office on 17 th ave by the train tracks with 3 oversized fish tried to call someone but no luck i believe this happens right there alot and it really ticks me off


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## User1265 (Oct 15, 2007)

I fish the Sikes quite often and I agree the FWC needs to go out there. Last Thursday I was fishing out there and everybody was catching baby cobia. Everybody thought they were remoras. I saw several lying dead on the bridge. If I had my camera I would have taken pictures and send it to the FWC. People catch "trash" fish and just leave them on the bridge to die andseveral times I have had people ask me if they could have the oversized Red I just caught. Man do they get mad when I look them dead in their eyesas I throw it back. 

The beer bottles can't be blamed 100% on the people fishing. Twice I have been sitting there fishing when a bottle came flying down from the travel lanes and exploded 20 feet from me. I can't imagine the damage that would do if it hit somebody. 

I think I will send an email to the FWC. Maybe if you guys do they same they will get the picture. If not I will go above their heads until somebody does something.


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## jigslinger (Sep 30, 2007)

Post the address. I'll write them and I don't even live there. Killing baby cobia is BS! :nonono


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## User1265 (Oct 15, 2007)

Here is the link for reporting a wildlife law violation. You can do it online or by phone. 

http://myfwc.com/law/alert/

I submitted a report yesterday and got a reply this morning. Here is a copy of the email:

Thank you for your report of this possible violation. Our case number
ref this complaint is 7032. I have given this information to the
officers who work these areas for extra patrol of the area.

If you see any further violations in the future, do not hesitate to
contact us either by email or by calling our toll free number,
<SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1219856378_0 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">888-404-3922.

Rachel Poppe
Duty Officer <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1219856378_1 style="BACKGROUND: none transparent scroll repeat 0% 0%; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Supervisor
FWCC - Division of Law Enforcement
Northwest Region

-----Original Message-----
From: <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1219856378_2>[email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2008 4:09 PM
To: Poppe, Rachel; Pearce, Scott
Cc: Boatwright, Precious
Subject: HTTP://MyFWC.Com - Wildlife Violation Report

Website Submission - Wildlife Law Violation

Name: Craig Wyse
Address: 343 Twisted Oak Dr
City, State: <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1219856378_3>Cantonment, FL 32533
Phone Number: <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1219856378_4 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">850-418-4037
Email: [email protected]

May we contact you for more information? Yes

If eligible, do you want a reward? No

Would you like to be contacted about the disposition of your complaint? 
Yes

Description of Violation: There are multiple violations that I have 
witnessed on different occasions. I have seen fish well outside of size 
limits kept, mainly Red Drum in the 30 to 40 inch size range. I have
seen 
lizard fish, catfish, stingrays, and many other "not wanted" fish 
purposely thrown aside left to die. Even though these fish are not 
regulated species there is no reason to kill 10 to 20 of these fish for
no 
reason. This would also include baby <SPAN class=yshortcuts id=lw_1219856378_5 style="CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #0066cc 1px dashed">Cobia in the 12 inch size range. I 
beleive this is a result of not knowing the type of fish being caught.

Location of Violation: I have seen these violations take place on the
Bob 
Sikes Fishing Bridge and the Palafox Pier. I beleive FWC Officers need
to 
patrol these areas. I have been fishing these places for a long time and
I 
have never seen an officer out there.

Did you personally observe the violation? Yes

Date violation occurred: Multiple Occasions

How many people (violators) were involved?

Do you know or did you hear any of their names?

Description of Violators:

Description of Autos:

Code Color: blue

Code Number: 8

<DIV id=highlighterDivCG style="DISPLAY: none; Z-INDEX: -1; POSITION: absolute; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow"></DIV>


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## Austin (Sep 30, 2007)

It pisses me off to see the careless acts by some of the people who fish the local piers and bridges. Ive seen them throw plastic bags, bottles, beer cans, and beer bottles into the water, or just leave them on the pier, even though there is a damn trash can about 30 yards down from them. As for the illegal activities such as keeping illegal reds and such, I keep the FWC number in my phone and do NOT hesitate to call them. Yes, I warn the "unaware" person before calling, but if they dont change their minds about what they are doing, I call the FWC and stall them before they leave.. Call me what you want, but I believe the fish limits were put there for a reason. Im 21, and I want to have quality fishing here until I cant fish anymore, and keep the fishing good for my kids, grandkids, and great grandkids, and on. How about everyone who witnesses these kinds of acts put the FWC's number in their phones, so they there is no more "not having the number" this could be a step forward to preventing a lot of this activity! 888-404-3922


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## fishn4fun (May 11, 2008)

dont know if was an affect of your e mail but the fwc was on the beach pier checking coolers today i have been fishing on that pier for a few years on a regular basis and today was the first time i have ever seen an fwc officer there other than the survey guy so maybe if enough people keep at them they will patrol these places more often


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## JHOGUE (Oct 4, 2007)

I was on bob sikes yesterday and two guy got busted with a bucket of cobia!!! i also wrote a letter to the fwc maybe they will start cracking down!!!


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## konz (Oct 1, 2007)

Glad to hear it. I was talking to a fella a few weeks back who told me he just got busted for having 15 mangroves. Luckily they were all still alive in a bucket of water and he was able to release them...that would have been a crazy fine!

I had a guy arguing with me the other day about mangroves. He was telling me that they were black snapper and that according to the book there was no size limit........I tried explaining that they were called mangrove snapper and there was a size and number limit....but he didn't want to hear it.....


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## JHOGUE (Oct 4, 2007)

:doh


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## pete bender (Aug 29, 2008)

> *konz (9/2/2008)*Glad to hear it. I was talking to a fella a few weeks back who told me he just got busted for having 15 mangroves. Luckily they were all still alive in a bucket of water and he was able to release them...that would have been a crazy fine!
> 
> I had a guy arguing with me the other day about mangroves. He was telling me that they were black snapper and that according to the book there was no size limit........I tried explaining that they were called mangrove snapper and there was a size and number limit....but he didn't want to hear it.....




he will learn the hard way, some people are thick headed...


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## iceman28o1 (Sep 27, 2007)

some dumb people dont know what they are.


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## sailfish23 (Mar 24, 2008)

weres the pic houge?


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