The Reefs Are Alive Part 1 – A Boat Full of Cobia - "The Sportsman Experience" - Episode 4

Episode 4 of our newest series "The Sportsman Experience," is live and today's guests are going to bring a bit of humor and action to the show. Host, Jim Isaac has invited his brother John Hardin and two of his comical buddies from Sportsman Boats Jeff and Richie. Before we ever started our day we were already cracking jokes and knew that it would only continue as the day went on. As the producer of the show I knew this was going to be a great episode and if we got on the fish it would probably be one of the most action packed episodes so far. If you can read between the lines, this is only part one; the actions only just beginning in this episode.

The group is headed offshore to fish some natural bottom in about 60 feet of water off the coast of Charleston. They're targeting a group of cobia that Jim has been fishing for the last couple of weeks. These are great fish to go after as they're only here like this for a short amount of time each year. Now, while they're a great-tasting fish, it's tough to actually catch one that's within the legal limits. Due to federal organizations like NOAA size limits and bag limits have been changing with the most recent change being that this particular pelagic species must now be 36-inch measurement from tip of the nose to the fork of the tail where it used to be 33 inches. As you'll see today, even with the fear that population numbers are dwendling, the cobia are healthy and strong here in South Carolina.

Cobia are a great fighting fish as well and best caught using live bait like menhaden dropped down to about 20-30 feet off the bottom. When the cobia are present, they're hard to not hook up with. However, once hooked up it's a race to get the fish to the boat because generally cobia are swimming with sharks feeding off the scraps they leave behind. This all leads to a lot of fun on the boat, especially when everyone's hooked up at once. Fish are hitting the deck, everyone's scrambling to dehook and release or measure those close calls. When filming an episode like this, myself and my second cameraman are also scrambling to figure out where we should point the camera. It's in this instance where the use of a plethora of GoPros comes in handy.

Additionally, having a boat like the Open 352 makes landing this many fish at once much easier. The large rear cockpit area provides ample space in the instance of 3 fish on the deck, 4 grown men trying to wrangle them and two pesky cameramen trying to record the action. There's also some great perks to this boat such as spot-locking capabilities, ample rod storage and two large pressurized livewells that make fishing much easier. Then for those days like this one where you've got 4-foot seas, the Seakeeper 3 saves you. Jeff was especially appreciative of the Seakeeper because he was really pushing the limits by coming on this trip just a few weeks after having knee replacement surgery.

All of this action makes for a great episode, and if you're in the mood for some good fishing TV packed full of fish and goofy friends joking all day than this is right up your alley. Make sure to leave comments on the video letting us know what you think and even suggest what kind of fishing you would like to see next.