A few years back I was bottom fishing from a head boat out of Islamorada. I had hooked a small bottom fish and had reeled it almost to the surface, just enough to see a flash of silver, when a brown and white flash engulfed it and line began to scream off the reel. I told the mate “A damned shark”. Wrong. Ten minutes later I brought a 24 pound Cobia to gaff. Delicious!
When I lived in MD, I always wanted to catch a cobia. I have heard they’re doid eating. During dry years, they’d come up near the area of the Naval Academy when the Chesapeake salinity was higher. Hooked plenty of bluefish, which are aggressive and fun to catch, but the meat is a bit bloody and not really to my liking.