HUGE Cobia Caught off Louisiana Weighed in Mississippi

Brandon Bosarge of Pascagoula, Mississippi, brought the third largest cobia ever taken in Mississippi to the scales of the Gulf Coast Cobia Classic–a month-long cobia tournament run out of Pascagoula.

The fish, which Bosarge caught in Louisiana waters but weighed in in Mississippi, is the first 100-pound plus cobia weighted in Mississippi in 18 years. Because tournament rules allow for anglers to fish in adjacent waters, Bosarge’s fish will count as a Mississippi catch.

The current Mississippi record for cobia is 106 pounds, 13 ounces. The record fish was landed by Randy McDaniel of Biloxi in the 1996 Gorenflo’s Cobia Tournament in Biloxi.

Dr. Jim Franks of the Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs examined the fish and identified that ““It was the third largest cobia we have weighed in Mississippi that we know of.” He went on to explain that “I am guessing the fish is at least nine years old. We will determine just how old it is when we examine the ear bones. The oldest one we have seen was 11 years old and the includes one of the hundred-pound fish that was caught 18 years ago at the Gorenflo’s Tournament.

According to Bosarge, he and his crew were fishing in 60 feet of water with a custom made green jig. Bosarge reports, “We were jigging [oil] rigs. This fish hit the jig and we never saw it. When it hit, I knew we had a big fish, but I didn’t think it was that big. I thought it might weigh 90-pounds until we got him in the boat.” He went on to say, “Dr. Franks said we probably had a state record, but the fish threw up in the water at the boat. Also, we caught it at 10 am on Tuesday and fished the rest of the day. We then fished all day Wednesday before weighing it in at 7:30 pm on Wednesday in Pascagoula. No doubt it lost weight over that period of time. But to have the first 100-pound cobia to be weighed in Mississippi in the last 18 years is good, too.”

The current IGFA All tackle World record for cobia is a 135-pound and 9 ounce fish taken by Peter Goulding in Shark bay, Australia, in July, 1985.