‘The fight was on.’ How a Manatee captain helped reel in massive cobia catch

Many anglers dream of catching one of the Gulfs most random fish — cobia.

They can appear when you least expect it inshore on the flats, 100 miles offshore or anywhere in between. They can be extremely small or grow to over 100 pounds, and their appearance often leads to chaos around a fishing boat when they show up.

“Back in December we had a great cobia run,” said offshore captain Tyler Degraff of Fin Seekers Fishing Charters. “We got somewhere around 14 to 16 in a week that were 40 to 50 pounds. The biggest one was 62 pounds.”

Degraff had taken advantage of good weather at the beginning of March when calm days allowed him to head offshore. He has been targeting red grouper and mangrove snapper. The red grouper fishing has been a bit inconsistent, with some days being instant catches and other days needing a bit more work.

“I think the water heated up so quick the grouper became confused. Some days you get them quick and then the next you can’t get them to eat, but then after 30 minutes, they’ll turn on. I’ve seen bigger fish in 100 feet than spots out to 120 feet.”

On most days, after catching red grouper limits, Degraff has moved over to big ledges where the mangrove snapper fishing has been phenomenal.

“I’ve been bringing 15 to 20 pounds of bait to chunk. The mangroves have been rising to the surface and we’ve been freelining baits back to them. They’ve been big, too, 25 to 26 inches and they’re knocking baits out of the water and tailing on them!” Degraff said excitedly.

“On one of those big ledges, a big old cobia swam up on us. This time of year we always keep a big pitch rod ready. We tossed a big bait out, and it ate it immediately. We closed the bail and came tight, but the line broke immediately!”

Watching the big cobia swim off with 25 feet of line at first dejected Degraff. What happened next surprised the boat of anglers.

The cobia turned back around, and they had another rod rigged.

“When he turned back around, we threw another bait out, and he ate it again. Then the fight was on. All four anglers took turns fighting it before getting worn out. It stayed down and never really ran, using its size as leverage. I finally started driving the boat a bit to keep it from going underneath us. After about 40 minutes, we finally had it up boat-side.”

The big cobia was gaffed and swung into the boat. After the long fight, everyone was worn out and Degraff saw its size.

“At first I thought it was going to be pretty big. But then when it came in the boat I saw just how massive it was, the biggest landed on my boat. It was much bigger than the 62 we got in December, probably over 70.”

The big fish was a memory maker for all involved. And for Degraff, he said the four anglers will never forget that bond.

“At the start of the day, the four didn’t know each other,” Degraff said. “But at the end of the day, they were all friends who won’t forget that trip.”

Captain Tyler Degraff can be reached through his website www.FinSeekersFishing.com.

This story was originally published March 22, 2026 at 5:50 AM.