Cobia
Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is a saltwater species. The first thing to check: a broad, flat head on a long dark brown torpedo body, with a white or cream horizontal stripe along the flank. The look-alike to rule out is Remora: remoras have a suction disc on top of the head. Cobia do not — this is the mark that settles the classic mistake.
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| Scientific name | Rachycentron canadum |
|---|---|
| Also called | ling, lemonfish, crab eater, brown bomber |
| Water | Saltwater |
| Group | Cobia |
| Temperature | Migrates with warming water, appearing as coastal temperatures pass about 68 °F and holding through the 70s and 80s. |
How to identify a Cobia
- A broad, flat head on a long dark brown torpedo body, with a white or cream horizontal stripe along the flank.
- A row of seven to nine short, isolated spines in front of the soft dorsal fin, with no connecting membrane.
- A protruding lower jaw and small eyes.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Remora | Remoras have a suction disc on top of the head. Cobia do not — this is the mark that settles the classic mistake. |
| Shark | At distance the cobia's flat head and single dorsal read as a shark; look for the pale flank stripe and the paired pectorals held out flat. |
Where it lives
Atlantic and Gulf coasts from the mid-Atlantic through the Gulf. Migrates along beaches in spring, shadowing rays, turtles, buoys and any floating structure.
Temperature
Migrates with warming water, appearing as coastal temperatures pass about 68 °F and holding through the 70s and 80s.
The conditions that matter
The spring cobia run is one of the most precisely temperature-driven migrations on the coast — anglers time it off water temperature charts and sight-fish in clear, calm, sunny conditions. Water temperature, wind and cloud cover per catch is the record that predicts next spring's arrival date on your stretch.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about cobia into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.