Congratulations to Jay Riordan for submitting the best Cobia picture this week.  He lives in Tampa and fishes everywhere! Congrats on capturing a great photo of your friends.

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LOCATION & HABITAT

Cobia are found in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate waters around the world, except in the Eastern Pacific. In U.S. waters, they’re most abundant from Virginia south through the Gulf of Mexico. Cobia migrate seasonally in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Along the Atlantic coast, they move south and offshore toward warmer waters during the late fall and winter. Cobia found in the northeastern Gulf during the summer move to south Florida waters in the winter, possibly spending the winter near the Florida Keys.

Cobia are pelagic – they live near the surface of the water column. They prefer to live near any structure in the water (buoys, debris, shipwrecks, and artificial reefs) or large animals (sharks, turtles, and stingrays). Cobia are rarely seen in large groups. Adult cobia tend to travel alone or in small groups.