Cobia Fishing Charters with
Live Oac Fishing
Hilton Head Island's Adventure Professionals™
Cobia Fishing in Hilton Head
The secret's out: Hilton Head Island offers world-class cobia fishing. People come from all over for a chance to catch a “brownie” as these unique looking chocolate-colored fish are sometimes called. Cobia have a shark-like body shape, with a wide, flat head and a strong tail. They’re known for making hard runs when hooked, and putting up a fierce fight for anglers.
Why is this such a hot spot? There are two significant coastal features that make Hilton Head such a great cobia fishing area, one inshore and one offshore.
Inshore, the Port Royal Sound estuary on Hilton Head Island’s northern end is one of largest spawning grounds for cobia along the southeast US coast. You'll see boats lined up on the tidal rips and key fishing spots from the Broad River bridge all the way out to the mouth of Port Royal Sound where it reaches the ocean, miles away.
Offshore, we have a relatively "shallow" coast, with depths less than 50 feet or so for several miles out, with one big exception. An underwater feature called the Tybee Trough which looks digs to the shallow coastal waters toward Hilton Head. At it's closest, maybe 15 miles out from the beach, we get a sudden drop into 80-100 foot waters at the edge of the Tybee Trough. This area was chosen by the SCDNR to build a massive artificial reef area highlighted by a sunken ship called the "Betsy Ross". We refer to the reef as the same, and it's an amazing place to fish for cobia.
The water is significantly clearer out here than the murky inshore waters of Hilton Head. Inherently curious and attracted to all sorts of objects, it’s not unusual to be surprised by a cobia or two swimming right up to the boat. It’s good to have a pitch bait at the ready to toss out as a quick cobia snack!
We spend most of our time cobia fishing by anchoring up along structure offshore and tidal rips inshore, in these areas where cobia are known to frequent, and we use mostly live and cut bait along with some artificial jigs and lures in some cases.
Cobia show up along with our influx of sharks into inshore & offshore waters as the water temperature warms into the 70s. So Cobia fishing charters are generally “cobia & shark” fishing charters. When fishing for cobia, we tend to catch lots of sharks, an occasional bull redfish, and smaller species like whiting or black sea bass. Sometimes we’ll encounter early seasonal schools of Spanish Mackerel near our cobia spots.
Given “perfect” conditions when there is no wind and super calm water, there are spots we can cruise slowly, sight fishing for cobia near the surface. These moments are rare, but often worth the hunt if conditions are right. An extended trip can combine things like fishing open water for cobia and sharks with fishing shallow water for redfish. There are lots of options. Tell us about your group and we’ll be sure to match the best boat, captain, and fishing approach to show you a great time on the water.
Why is this such a hot spot? There are two significant coastal features that make Hilton Head such a great cobia fishing area, one inshore and one offshore.
Inshore, the Port Royal Sound estuary on Hilton Head Island’s northern end is one of largest spawning grounds for cobia along the southeast US coast. You'll see boats lined up on the tidal rips and key fishing spots from the Broad River bridge all the way out to the mouth of Port Royal Sound where it reaches the ocean, miles away.
Offshore, we have a relatively "shallow" coast, with depths less than 50 feet or so for several miles out, with one big exception. An underwater feature called the Tybee Trough which looks digs to the shallow coastal waters toward Hilton Head. At it's closest, maybe 15 miles out from the beach, we get a sudden drop into 80-100 foot waters at the edge of the Tybee Trough. This area was chosen by the SCDNR to build a massive artificial reef area highlighted by a sunken ship called the "Betsy Ross". We refer to the reef as the same, and it's an amazing place to fish for cobia.
The water is significantly clearer out here than the murky inshore waters of Hilton Head. Inherently curious and attracted to all sorts of objects, it’s not unusual to be surprised by a cobia or two swimming right up to the boat. It’s good to have a pitch bait at the ready to toss out as a quick cobia snack!
We spend most of our time cobia fishing by anchoring up along structure offshore and tidal rips inshore, in these areas where cobia are known to frequent, and we use mostly live and cut bait along with some artificial jigs and lures in some cases.
Cobia show up along with our influx of sharks into inshore & offshore waters as the water temperature warms into the 70s. So Cobia fishing charters are generally “cobia & shark” fishing charters. When fishing for cobia, we tend to catch lots of sharks, an occasional bull redfish, and smaller species like whiting or black sea bass. Sometimes we’ll encounter early seasonal schools of Spanish Mackerel near our cobia spots.
Given “perfect” conditions when there is no wind and super calm water, there are spots we can cruise slowly, sight fishing for cobia near the surface. These moments are rare, but often worth the hunt if conditions are right. An extended trip can combine things like fishing open water for cobia and sharks with fishing shallow water for redfish. There are lots of options. Tell us about your group and we’ll be sure to match the best boat, captain, and fishing approach to show you a great time on the water.
4‑8 HOURS
APR‑SEP (PEAK MAY/JUN)
INSHORE OR NEAR COASTAL
AGE VARIES
Live Oac supports catch-and-release shark fishing.
During the month of May, all Cobia caught in SC State Waters (inshore and within 3 miles nearshore) must be released. Cobia caught in Federal waters may be harvested per limits.
This is important as the Cobia found inshore during May are here to spawn, and we need to make sure they have that opportunity. Each year this policy continues we are seeing better numbers of Cobia inshore. We are glad to see efforts in the right direction to help our local and regional cobia population to flourish and return to its historically great numbers.
This is important as the Cobia found inshore during May are here to spawn, and we need to make sure they have that opportunity. Each year this policy continues we are seeing better numbers of Cobia inshore. We are glad to see efforts in the right direction to help our local and regional cobia population to flourish and return to its historically great numbers.
All Live Oac fishing charters are led by experienced professional fishing guides & USCG licensed captains and include boat, fuel, bait and tackle (except certain full-day offshore trips which are flat rate + fuel). No experience is necessary. Our fishing trips are private charters, and we do not "mix" or "match" groups, so who you bring is up to you. Price and max capacity varies by boat and trip type.