Local angler catches a cobia… an exotic fish

 Warm water fish:  Greg Vespe of Tiverton, RI caught this cobia, an exotic warm water fish, off Gould Island when fishing for striped bass with a bunker (Atlantic Menhaden) head as bait.

Fluke (summer flounder) fishing remains good off shore and in the lower Bay.  Pete Sousa of Warwick caught two fluke under the Newport Bridge an hour before high tide and then the bite was off.

Local angler catches a cobia… an exotic fish

“What a fight… the fish cleared the water by three feet and then dug under the boat and ran... boy they are tough fish.”, said Greg Vespe of Tiverton, RI as he recounted his fight with a cobia he caught off the south side of Gould Island in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay.  The fish was caught this past Sunday at 10:30 a.m. with a bunker (Atlantic Menhaden) head when Vespe was fishing for striped bass.  “The fish weighted 17 pounds, not really big for a cobia but what a fight.” said Vespe.

Cobia  are a great sport (and eating) fish and commonly weigh between 20 and 50 pounds with lengths of 20 to 47 inches.  According to the Florida Museum of Natural History a record cobia weighed in at 135 pounds.

Cobia migrate along the Atlantic coast on a seasonal basis. In spring, they move from southern Florida, to the Carolinas as water temperatures rise. I checked online and some have been caught in Rhode Island but usually later in the summer when the water has a chance to warm.  This Sunday surface water temperatures in the middle of the Narragansett Bay were in the 80 degree range so perhaps this is what enticed the cobia to come into the Bay.  In fall, Cobia reverse  their migration pattern and head south as water temperatures fall.

 A favorite food of cobia are crabs and they are commonly called "crabeater". They often cruise in packs of 3-100 fish, hunting for food during migration in shallow water along the shoreline. They will follow rays, turtles, and sharks, sneaking in to scavenge whatever is left behind.

This cobia is a real prize to be caught in Rhode Island, so congratulations Greg Vespe, and thanks for sharing your story about the fight.

Where’s the bite

Fluke fishing is good but is on and off some days.  Mike Swain of Coventry fished the Newport Bridge area with his fishing partner Darryl and boated ten keepers last week and then went back to the same spot the next day and caught two fish.”, said John Wunner of John’s Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown.  I fished the west side of the  Newport Bridge with two lines in the water Friday just before the tide turned and landed three keepers in about an hour and then the fishing shut down.  “A customer landed four keeper fluke fishing the Quonset Point and Wickford areas this Saturday.”, said John Wunner.   Mary Dangelo of Maridee Canvas-Bait & Tackle, Narragansett said, “Customers are catching some fluke from shore.”  Capt. Dangelo of the charter boat Maridee II said, “Saturday we fished Block Island and had 41 keepers with six people on board.  The fishing has been good but we haven’t been catching large fish in numbers.  The largest so far this year has been in the seven plus pound range.”  Brian   Beltraimi on the RISAA blog said, “Fished the Newport Bridge area yesterday (Saturday), started with an outgoing tide and S wind, not the best drift conditions, this produced a few shorts. As the tide slowed we went into Potters Cove, dropped the hook and had lunch while waiting for the tide to change. We then went back and fished in about 80' with an incoming tide and S wind. We soon started to hit them, all keepers 20-22". Used pink and glow "Spintrami" spin rigs tipped with variations of squid, fluke belly, mackerel, and spearing.”

Striped bass.  “Fishing around Block Island has been good.”, said Capt. Andy Dangelo of the charter boat Maridee II. “Last week we landed a 51 pound fish and today our largest fish was 49.8 pounds.  Tolling umbrella rigs and jigs are working well.”  Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence said, striped bass fishing had been good, but then the water warmed in the Bay (the surface temperature at Poppasquash Point, Sunday was 82 degrees) and things slowed a bit.  Capt. Billy Silvia of Can’t Imagine Charters landed eight bass in the morning while hardly any other boats in the area even hooked up.” John Wunner of John’s Bait & Tackle said, “Our pogy sales have slowed a bit.  We may have seen the best of the day time bass fishing in the Bay, however, we are now starting to sell a lot of eels and customers are starting to do more night fishing due to the water warming.”

Scup fishing remains strong with anglers catching fish off bridges, from shore and from boats in the upper, middle and lower parts of the Bay.  Mary Dangelo of Maridee Canvas-Bait &Tackle said, “Customers are catching scup at State Pier number 5 in Narragansett.”