# Sunday Trip (COBIA STORY)



## FLYBOY (Oct 3, 2007)

Left out kind of late as we were tired from the day before...headed out ofBens Lakeat about 1030. Here we are riding across Choctawhatchee Bay towards Crab Island...beautiful day



















World Famous Crab Island....end of the season, not to many folks out










Jellies were bad in the bay...incoming tide










Got under the Destin Bridge and Phil realized he was out of dip, so we made the left hand turn towards Harborwalk Marina to pick up a can and I figured I would snap a few pics. Here is the Monstrosity that is the Emerald Grande, next is Moreno Point, and finally Harborwalk




























After grabbing our stuff at harborwalk we make it out of the Pass a little after 1100 and the seas were flatter than they were yesterday(Sat). Our first stop was going to be the Lost Barge but we got there and several Divers were already there so we decided to head a little further south and see if there are any grouper at the Tug Janet. Make it to the Janet in no time and Luckily no boats are on it. So we gear up










Over the side we roll and normally I'm the first one down the anchor line but today we gave Cody the big gun and let him go first, Phil is next and I am bringing up the rear. Water was a comfortable 81 degrees top to bottom, no thermocline, the jellies were pretty bad but the vis was AWESOME, best we have seen in a long time it was easily 60-65ft. About 40 ft from the bottom I see 3 COBIA swimming parallel to the wreck below and to my right and I immediatly peel off and head towards them, I have no idea how my partners missed seeing them as they swam right over the top of them. As I start swimming towards them my adreniline starts to climb as I have never seen a cobe while diving before let alone 3!!! The biggest was in the midlle and easily weighed 80 lbs the two flanking him where in the 30 lb class. When I get to within 20 ft of them they turn away from the wreck and start to swim off and I am kickin myself for missing this once in a lifetime expierence....when all of a sudden they turn around and swim directly torwards me. Once the trio is directly in front of me and about 6 feet below me I take the shot and nail the biggest one right in top of the head (probably the worst place I could of shot him...I wasn't thinking about how hard their heads are) to my disbelief he slowly sinks to the bottom and just lays there! At this point my adrenaline is through the roof, 10 times worse than shooting my biggest buck. I am thinking to myself there is no way I just stoned that monster but he ain't movin'...so without thinking (I should have had my dive knife out and ready) I swim right down to him and with my right hand I grab this beast around his tail section....HUGE MISTAKE he instantly comes alive and now I have 80 lbs of pissed off cobia trying to beat me to death. I somehow manage to get him in a bearhug where most of the fish is under my body and left arm and am trying desperately to grab my knife with my right hand. Well after about 10 seconds of me cobia wrangling and getting the total shit kicked out of me the huge fish wiggles free and is swimming away from me...I instinctively reach out and grab the spear that is still stickin out of his head and with one giant swift kick of his tail he pulled the spearright out of his head.:banghead:banghead:banghead I sat there in stunned amazement and watch this cobia, my cobia, swim off....I was shaking like a leaf. I look over to find my dive buddies and cody (hes only 11) is just hovering there with a WTF just happened kind of look and phil is at the bottom of the anchor trying to get it out of the wreck...oblivious to my Cobia wrangling stunt. At this point I am totally spent but still managed to shoot several nice triggers. We searched the whole wreck for grouper but none could be found. My alarm goes off and its time to head back to the anchor line...get to the anchor and lo and behold there is a gag grouper just laying there so wham I take the shot and nail him but he takes off across the sand away from the wreck... he quickly runs out of leash as my cord pull tight and he stops right above a brand new NICE rod and reel combo that looks like it was dropped an hour before we got there. So I grab it and the gouper and up we go. I would have given a million bucks to have had Clay-do's helmet cam today, what a video that would have been....I am definetly getting me one. Well after a nice surface interval telling and retelling our stories and getting a little fishing in while we wait we decide to go back to the Lost Barge as none of us have dove it before and we wanted to see what it was like. We drop down on the Lost Barge andwas somewhat disappointed,not much life, did manage a few triggers and a couple of snapper...it was a relaxing dive though after the adventure of the first one! Final tally 4 triggers, 2 snapper and a gag grouper sorry no more pics...I kinda forgot about the camera. Overall one of the best weekends we have had here in a while...I LOVE living here!!!!:usaflag


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## FishinFL (Sep 30, 2007)

Thanks for sharing a great story and pics!! Its nice to have fish in the cooler.

I get the cobes i've shot in a head lock and pull their gills loose. They are a tough fish! I'm sure youll jump right on him next time...

Thanks again, Reese


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## Captain Woody Woods (Oct 2, 2007)

not to split hairs but that 80 pounder would be a female...sweet story though


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## cuzmondo (Oct 1, 2007)

Now that sounds like one helluva good dive adventure. I agree with you about living here, too bad days like that are too few and far between. Thanks for sharing.


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## yammohamma (Sep 8, 2008)

Awsome job Flyboy! too bad you didn't get that cobia.


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## hjorgan (Sep 30, 2007)

> *The Blue Hoo (9/30/2008)*not to split hairs but that 80 pounder would be a female...sweet story though


What the hell???? :doh :doh :doh


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## wld1985 (Oct 2, 2007)

^^^ was wondering the same thing??

But great story and pics matt.. Pretty funny little read.. G/l next time..


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## spearfisher (Oct 3, 2007)

Nice Job Matt..sucks you didn't land it, but that adrenaline rush is amazing isn't it! I second what Reese said, go for the gills. Headshots on Cobes are necessarily bad, but you've definitely got to have some power behind it and a sharp tip to put it through his head. The one that got away is what keeps you coming back!


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## Framerguy (Oct 2, 2007)

Shoot man, I haven't had tanks on in over 40 years and your story thrilled me!!! My diving was mainly in the South Mediterranean and such undersea life and coral and clear water was something that I still retain in my memories and will never see again. Back then there was absolutely NO water pollution on the North African coast!! None! The live bottom was healthy, the fish were beyone description in their colors and numbers, and the water was so clear that you felt that there was some kind of invisible force holding you back from just shooting forward with no hindrance at all on your body.

When you have such a perfect experience like those dives were for me, you kind of just lose the urge for something less. I dove a few times when I came back but it wasn't the same with the exception of diving in the shallows in the Keys.

Good story and keep an eye open on your next dive for a huge cobia with a permanent headache!!


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## sniper (Oct 3, 2007)

Nice story brother!!! I felt like I was there!


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## Telum Pisces (Sep 27, 2007)

I have a very similar Cobia story about the one that got away.It was my first cobia that I had ever seen and shot. It shook my shaft out very similar to what happend to yours. But I eventually saw another one (not as big though) and boated it a few weeks later that placed 3rd in the MBT tournament. So don't be discouraged. You'll get another shot at one. But that one still pisses me off to this day. He was a big fish.

Here's the video. It was a day I was out with Clay.(Speaking of Clay's helmet Cam)He did get my cobia that got away on video. I was glad to at least have the proof that I had it on the shaft for a bit. The cobia is about3/4 of the waythrough the video.

http://www.teamchunkylove.com/videos/8footbullshark.wmv

Thanks for the report.


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## JOHNJOHN205 (Oct 2, 2007)

great storybetter luck next time


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## Stressless (Oct 2, 2007)

Great Post bud!



Now anybody got "the" right way to kill a cobe with steel? Been reading the exploits and it seems that Cobe's kill more divers then sharks (yea - after being shot). I'm thinking a close in spine shot rather then a head shot but I'd like to hear from folks that have been there done that.



:mmmbeer

Stressless


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## Telum Pisces (Sep 27, 2007)

> *Stressless (10/1/2008)*Great Post bud!
> 
> Now anybody got "the" right way to kill a cobe with steel? Been reading the exploits and it seems that Cobe's kill more divers then sharks (yea - after being shot). I'm thinking a close in spine shot rather then a head shot but I'd like to hear from folks that have been there done that.
> 
> ...


Best way is to have something to hold on to or to tie them off to after the shot. When I saw mine coming at me, it was on the decent down theanchor line. And I knew that I was going to hang on for dear life onto that anchor line so I didn't get pulled across the entire gulf. But he ended up acting like I had not even shot him, until I started to pull him in. 

Even my 16 lb cobia that I shot and landed gave me a fit. You can ask Jeff (Sniper-spear-it) about the dance I did with that little cobia. He came up laughing. They are a tough fish once shot.

They are a hard fish to stone dead.


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## Clay-Doh (Oct 2, 2007)

Sweet job Flyboy!!!! Dang that sucks he got away from ya.....stop over anytime your in Gulf Breeze and I'll show ya the whole helmet cam setup...easy as hell, and less than $30 to for the gear, including the helmet!



Speaking of right way...Last saturday I switched my Riffe over to a "riding rig" style, that I think is something the Hell Divers invented for on the rigs. Josh H had posted a youtube video on how to set your gun up that way.



Well, let me tell ya....it is AWSOME!!! It makes fighting your fish so easy, no tangles with your gun, you have absolutely NO chance of losing your gun, either by big fish pulling you to the depths of the Oriskany, or big shark taking your fish and shaft like happened to me and dragging your ass around. 



You can also use the riding rig for leverage to swing the front of your gun around for quicker shots. Reloading is faster. ANd it cost me less than $10 to make it. 



2 dives, and I shot 8 fish. Everybody knows I NEVER shoot that many fish in even 3 dives, cuz I'm so lazy and hate reloadin...but this takes the headache out!



Again man...nice job, and I hope one day to get me a cobe! It was cool seein and getin on video Telums cobe!


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## bluffman2 (Nov 22, 2007)

clay just get ya a double barrel:doh

:blownaway


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## Clay-Doh (Oct 2, 2007)

I seen them over under spearguns...look pretty crazy!~


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## PapaDawg (Jul 15, 2008)

good report i see my little tank:clap


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